Shear Strength of Lightweight Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with CFRP Strips

摘要

Several reinforced lightweight concrete beams were cast with and without CFRP shear strips. The objective of this research is to investigate the shear contribution of the CFRP strips to the ultimate shear strength of the beams. To make full use of the CFRP strips, anchorage at the top sides of the beam webs was provided in the form of CFRP strips along the shear span length. This solution works well with beams with monolithic slabs and T-beams. The test variables were the orientation of CFRP composites, width of longitudinal shear strip to total beam depth (w_t /h), shear span to depth ratio (a/d), and concrete compressive strength (f_c'). The experimental and FEA results indicated that the anchoring of the shear strips with longitudinal CFRP strips on both top sides of the beam increases the shear capacity and it was found to be a very efficient and economical method.