Continuous Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix: Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulation

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the nonlinear flexural behavior of continuous RC beam specimens strengthened with fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites through experimental testing and numerical modeling. A total of nine two-span RC beam specimens were constructed and tested. Test parameters included the type of FRCM (carbon (C-FRCM) and polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO-FRCM), location of strengthening (sagging and hogging regions) and number of FRCM layers (two and four layers). Test results indicated that sagging strengthening resulted in a strength gain in the range of 17 to 29%, whereas hogging strengthening increased the load capacity by 9 to 17%. The use of C-FRCM resulted in a higher strength gain than that provided by PBO-FRCM composites. Specimens strengthened with PBO-FRCM exhibited, however, higher ductility and deformational capacity than those of their counterparts strengthened with C-FRCM. Doubling the number of FRCM layers resulted in no or insignificant increase in the load capacity but reduced the beam ductility. Specimens strengthened in the sagging regions exhibited moment redistribution ratios of 13 to 26% between the hogging and sagging regions. Insignificant moment redistribution was recorded for the specimens strengthened in the hogging region. Three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation models, with and without an interfacial bond-slip law at the fabric–matrix interface, were developed. The inclusion of the bond-slip law in the modeling had an insignificant effect on predicted response. Although the models tended to underestimate the deflection, the predicted load capacities were within a 12% error band. Numerical findings were in agreement with those obtained from laboratory testing.

Numerical Modeling of Concrete Deep Beams Made with Recycled Aggregates and Steel Fibers

“…Previous investigations [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] verified the validity of the software ATENA 3D [49] to predict and simulate the behavior of different structural elements with good accuracy, and hence, was adopted in the current study. Although the software has built-in constitutive laws for conventional concrete, such laws are not available for concrete made with RCAs and steel fibers.…”

Repair Of Continuous Beams Pre-Damaged By Corrosion In Sagging Regions With C-Frcm Composites

“…The virgin beam was constructed and tested previously by the second author's research group [13]. Additional two beams were fabricated then subjected to accelerated corrosion by means of an impressed current technique.…”

Sensitivity analysis of parameters affecting the seismic performance of RC columns strengthened by fabric-reinforced cementitious mortar

“…However, physical experiments are often time-consuming and costly. Recently, with the development of many efficient and highly reliable computational analysis algorithms, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been used to analyze the effectiveness and behavior of FRCM in strengthening structures, and has been verified with high accuracy [37,45,[57][58][59]. Hence, in this study, FEA is an effective choice to provide the opportunity for virtual experiments, which are cost-efficient and time-saving, assuming well-calibrated models.…”