Abstract
Reinforced concrete structures deteriorate with use and over a period of time, due to several factors such as physical and chemical aging, corrosion, service loads exceeding design loads and inadequate durability. One of the large number of strengthening techniques used for rehabilitation of concrete structures is the method of using thin glass and carbon fiber fabrics, which are bonded externally to the surface of concrete. The study is focused on investigating the feasibility of using fabrics with vertical glass fibers as tools for shear strengthening and carbon fiber fabrics for flexural strengthening of concrete beams. The experimental study involved testing of two unreinforced control beams and seven other beams with different composite fiber fabric configurations, in four-point bending to failure. An analytical model for predicting the behavior of fiber wrapped beams, based on strain compatibility and equilibrium, is also included in the study. The composite fiber wraps proved to be effective in enhancing the flexural capacity of the concrete beams, however the vertical glass shear reinforcement failed to upgrade the shear capacity of the concrete beams.
Dabholkar, Niranjan Shamsunder (1999). Tests of concrete beams with externally-bonded glass-fiber fabric web reinforcement. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1999 -THESIS -D33.