Study of Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams Using Embedded Bars and CFRP

Abstract

A new technique for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) elements is the embedded through section (ETS). This technique calls for holes to be drilled through the beam section, and then bars of steel are introduced into these holes, bonded with adhesives or fixed mechanically. This research presents an experimental and analytical study for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams. The main objective of the research is to study the different methods for shear strengthening by using ETS technique (bond and mechanical) and the use of this technique on beams early strengthened with CFRP sheets. An experimental program including fourteen test specimens was conducted. The beams were classified into four groups to draw the necessary conclusion for the study parameters (strengthening method for ETS, inclination of ETS, loading history, CFRP sheets). The effects of the selected parameters on the beam shear capacity are presented in form of cracking, and failure load comparisons. The analytical results from (Eurocode and ACI code) and the gained shear capacity were compared to those obtained from experiments. Based on the above study, recommendations for shear strengthening using ETS and CFRP composites were drawn.