The objective of the presented study is to examine the effects of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite rehabilitation systems on the fatigue performance of reinforced concrete beams. Experiments were conducted on beams with and without GFRP composite sheets on their tensile surfaces. The specimens were 152 ϫ 152 ϫ 1,321 mm reinforced concrete beams with enough transverse reinforcement to avoid shear failure. The results of this study indicate that the fatigue life of reinforced concrete beams with the given geometry, subjected to the same cycling load, can be significantly extended through the use of externally bonded GFRP composite sheets. An interesting finding is that, although the fiber strengthening system increases the fatigue life of the beams, the failure mechanism, fatigue of the steel reinforcement, remains the same in both strengthened and nonstrengthened beams. Thus, it is possible to predict the fatigue life of a cyclically loaded beam using existing fatigue models.

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By far, carbon and glass fibers are the most popular fiber reinforcements for composites. Traditional carbon composites are relatively expensive since the manufacturing process requires significant heat and pressure, while the carbon fibers themselves are inherently expensive to produce. In addition, they are often flammable and their use is restricted when fire is a critical design parameter. Glass fabrics are approximately one order of magnitude less expensive than similar carbon fabrics. However, they lack the stiffness and the durability needed for many high performance applications. By combining these two types of fibers, hybrid composites can be fabricated that are strong, yet relatively inexpensive to produce. The primary objective of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of bonding high strength carbon fibers to E-glass composite cores using a high temperature, inorganic matrix known as geopolymer. Carbon fibers were bonded to E-glass cores (i) on only the tension face, (ii) on both the tension and compression faces, or (iii) dispersed throughout the core in alternating layers to obtain a strong, yet economical, hybrid composite laminate. For each response measured (flexural capacity, stiffness, and ductility), at least one hybrid configuration displayed mechanical properties comparable to all carbon composite laminates. The results indicate that hybrid composite plates manufactured using 3k unidirectional carbon tape exhibit increases in flexural capacity of approximately 700% over those manufactured using E-glass fibers alone. In general, as the relative amount of carbon fibers increased, the likelihood of precipitating a compression failure also increased. For 92% of the specimens tested, the threshold for obtaining a compression failure was utilizing 30% carbon fibers. The results presented herein can dictate future studies to optimize hybrid performance and to achieve economical configurations for a given set of design requirements.

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The aim of this study is to upgrade the shear capacity of reinforced concrete (R/C) beams strengthened with either Carbon (CFRP) or Steel (SRP) fiber Reinforced Polymers with strips having the form of either closed or open hoop external transverse reinforcement. This investigation also includes the use an anchoring device. Seven prototype specimens in need of shear strength upgrade were tested having a span of 3000mm. The strengthened R/C beams along with a non-strengthened control R/C beams were tested monotonically under four point bending loading conditions. The experimental results indicate that the shear failure of the closed hoop strengthened beams is accompanied with the tensile fracture of the CFRP/SRP strips together with an increase in the shear capacity. A considerable increase in the shear strength was observed when open hoop CFRP/SRP strips with no anchoring were used; however, the debonding of these strips posed a limitation to this upgrade. When these open hoop CFRP/SRP strips were provided with anchoring devices the shear strength of the R/C beams was further increased and the shear failure was accompanied this time by either the fracture of the CFRP/SRP strips or the failure of the anchoring system. In conclusion, a shear strengthening system for R/C beams utilizing open hoop CFRP/SRP strips with properly designed anchoring it is easily applicable, it increases significantly the shear capacity of such R/C beams and it exploits at the same time the high tensile strength of these fiber polymer materials in a cost effective way. An analytical procedure used to predict the shear strength for of such R/C beams yielded good comparison with the measured values.