Foreign and domestic expertise in strengthening concrete structures with carbon fiber

Abstract

Over the last 10-15 years, Russia has faced a significant increase in the scope of reconstruction work (including restoration and overhaul) for buildings of various purposes aiming to extend the life cycle of existing facilities and to bring buildings in line with requirements of modern regulatory documents in terms of strength and increase in their energy efficiency. Strengthening the building structures with composite materials is by far the most ‘gentle’ method of restoring building structures and improving their operational performance. At the same time, there is only a small number of publications generalizing this type of strenghtening in the domestic scientific and technical literature. During the operation of buildings and structures (especially industrial ones) numerous factors cause accelerated degradation in building structures. This phenomenon is particulary strong in reinforced concrete structures due to their composite base. Practice shows that corrosive damage is one of the main factors of intensive constuction degradation of reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, these damages are caused by manufacturing defects (reduction of concrete protective layer), loss of concrete-against-reinforcement protective properties due to carbonization or damage. Corrosive damage greatly reduces the life capability and durability of reinforced concrete structures, which in turn leads to a decrease in the safety of construction site operations.