Experimental Study of Large-scale RC Beams Shear-Strengthened with Basalt FRP Sheets

Over the last three decades, many experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams, shear strengthened with externally bonded Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite. However, the majority of experimental studies have focused on small- to medium-scale beam specimens. As a result, most design equations that have been developed as part of these studies may thus not be accurate at predicting the shear strength of large-scale RC beams shear-strengthened with FRP sheets. This study thus involved performing tests on six specimens to study the effect of the larger scale, along with new variables such as beam width, new varieties of FRP sheets (basalt FRP (BFRP)), and the strengthening configuration (U-jacketing), on the prediction of the ultimate load of RC beams strengthened with externally bonded FRP composite. The experimental results were analyzed and showed that all these variables affected the lateral strain along the bottom and the top of the beams. It was found that variations in the depth to width ratio of the beams caused the failure angle to vary as well. For beams strengthened with BFRP sheets, both the cracking and ultimate load increased to ۱.۱۹ and ۱.۹۴ times the cracking and ultimate load of the control beams under identical conditions.Over the last three decades, many experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams, shear strengthened with externally bonded Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite. However, the majority of experimental studies have focused on small- to medium-scale beam specimens. As a result, most design equations that have been developed as part of these studies may thus not be accurate at predicting the shear strength of large-scale RC beams shear-strengthened with FRP sheets. This study thus involved performing tests on six specimens to study the effect of the larger scale, along with new variables such as beam width, new varieties of FRP sheets (basalt FRP (BFRP)), and the strengthening configuration (U-jacketing), on the prediction of the ultimate load of RC beams strengthened with externally bonded FRP composite. The experimental results were analyzed and showed that all these variables affected the lateral strain along the bottom and the top of the beams. It was found that variations in the depth to width ratio of the beams caused the failure angle to vary as well. For beams strengthened with BFRP sheets, both the cracking and ultimate load increased to ۱.۱۹ and ۱.۹۴ times the cracking and ultimate load of the control beams under identical conditions.