Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the contribution of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) to the load-carrying capacity of shear-strengthened Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams. Specifically, the investigation is focused on the FRP’s contribution in the presence and absence of shear stirrups. To this end, two sets of full-scale RC beam specimens were tested to failure in a simply supported setup. Set 1 consisted of specimens without shear stirrups whereas Set 2 included steel stirrups spaced at 170 mm. One and two layers of FRP discrete strips were bonded to the beams in a U-jacketing configuration. To investigate the contribution of FRP and its interaction with the stirrups, two different locations were considered when bonding the FRP strips: between the stirrups (referred to as Off-beams) and at the same level of the stirrups (referred to as On). Results of the experimental program showed that strengthening the beams with two layers of FRP does not necessarily translate to improved capacity. Furthermore, the location of FRP strips with respect to the location of shear stirrups has an influence on the beam’s overall behavior, especially its displacement ductility. This is an important parameter to consider to avoid premature failure of RC members. Test results were then used to assess the performance and accuracy of the predictions of ACI PRC-440.2-17 and fib-TG9.3. Both design codes were found to be conservative with an average prediction-to-test ratio of 0.7.
Highlights
The authors demonstrated that the contribution of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) in shear strength is affected by the quantity of steel stirrups and that when compared to test results, the ACI PRC-440.2-17 and European fib-TG9.3 formulas provided reasonable estimation of the additional shear strength contributed by the externally bonded (EB)-CFRP discrete strips, except for the beams with moderate ratio of steel stirrups
In addition to the studies highlighted earlier in the introduction, several other researchers have contributed to the experimental studies of the shear strength of EB-fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)
An alternative to such methods is the use of externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer reinforcement
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The authors studied the effects of the transverse steel reinforcement on the shear gain by testing ten CFRP-strengthened T-beams [12]. They considered several design parameters, including the transverse steel ratio. The authors demonstrated that the contribution of CFRP in shear strength is affected by the quantity of steel stirrups and that when compared to test results, the ACI PRC-440.2-17 and European fib-TG9.3 formulas provided reasonable estimation of the additional shear strength contributed by the EB-CFRP discrete strips, except for the beams with moderate ratio of steel stirrups. Use the test data to assess performance of the ACI and fib predictive models
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