Flexural behavior of RC beams strengthned with CFRP sheets using different strengthening techniques

Due to the advantages of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials, they have been utilized to strengthen several reinforced concrete (RC) elements such as slabs, beams and columns. In this paper, five RC beams (200 mm width, 300 mm height, and 2750 mm length) were constructed. Four of these beams were strengthened with CFRP sheets whereas the last beam was used as a reference. Test parameters include the amount of FRP and the strengthening technique. Three strengthening techniques were used including the externally bonded technique (EB), the near surface mounted (NSM) technique using folded CFRP sheets inserted in near surface grooves, and a hybrid technique. All beams were tested under four point bending setup until failure. The control beam failed by the yielding of the tension steel followed by concrete crushing. The strengthened beams failed by steel yielding followed by either rupture or debonding of CFRP sheets at higher loads compared to the reference one. The stiffness after steel yielding and the ultimate capacity increased as the amount of CFRP increased. The strengthening technique affected the ultimate capacity of the strengthened beams. The NSM beam showed the lowest increase in the ultimate capacity (25.2%) whereas the hybrid beam showed the best performance with the highest increase in the ultimate capacity (58%) compared to the reference beam.