Flexural Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams Using GFRP Composites

摘要

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) has become an excellent choice of materials for repair, increasing the load capacity and stiffness of existing concrete structures. External bonding of composite laminates to the concrete surface of reinforced concrete (r c) beams is an effective technique of repair, retrofit and strengthening. The paper investigates experimentally the performance and mode of failure of the R C beams. In this study three sets of beams were tested: Control beam (without GFRP), Precracked and Uncracked R C beams were externally bonded to the tensile surface in one, two and five layers of the GFRP strips. All beams were tested under two point loading. The effect of GFRP thickness on Precracked and Uncracked R C beams were studied. The results show significant improvement in structural properties in comparison to the control beam. The modes of failure in the beams are also presented.