Title : FLEXURAL STRENGTHENING OF RC BEAMS USING FABRIC REINFORCED CONCRETE
Authors : Smitha Gopinath(1), Nagesh R. Iyer(1), Ravindra Gettu
Publication : 13th – 16th February 2013
Volume :
Pages : 8-Jan
Price : 250
Abstract : Upgrading structural components with cement based bonding agents and high performance fiber materials gives a more compatible repair or strengthening system, and prevents some of the disadvantages associated with the systems which use organic binding agents. A cementitious composite, called fabric reinforced concrete (FABcrete) is proposed as a strengthening material to enhance the overall performance of RC beams and found to be a promising material. FABcrete consists of bi-directional reinforcing glass fabrics in combination with fine grained cementitious binding matrix. Investigations were carried out to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of using FABcrete as a flexural strengthening material for RC beams and evaluating the performance. Four point bending tests were performed on strengthened and un-strengthened RC beams under displacement control loading. The performance of the strengthened beams was compared to the un-strengthened beams with respect to cracking, ductility, ultimate strength and failure pattern. It is observed that there is significant increase in the flexural load carrying capacity as well as ductility for RC beams strengthened with FABcrete. The final failure of strengthened beam was by fabric rupture, which indicated that the bond between old concrete and FABcrete is perfect and no special anchoring techniques are required for applying FABcrete to the existing concrete.