Bending reinforcement of reinforced concrete beams with alkali-resistant fiberglass textile-reinforced concrete with different surface treatments

Abstract Textile reinforced concrete emerges as an alternative for the strengthening of reinforced concrete structures. However, as a relatively new material, there is still no regulatory body or standardization that standardizes the manufacturing and application processes of the material, which generates significant differences regarding its characteristics and properties. From this perspective, this study seeks to experimentally evaluate the mechanical performance of textile reinforced concrete when applied as reinforcement of reinforced concrete beams subjected to four-point bending tests, using the alkali-resistant fiberglass textile produced in Brazil, TEXIGLASS AR-360-RA-04. As an exploratory study, the experimental program consists of fourteen reinforced beams and one rectangular cross-section reference beam (120 mm wide, 200 mm high, and 1500 mm long), totaling fifteen beams. As variables, the bond strength at the textile-matrix interface is investigated based on (a) the type of matrix (industrialized polymer mortar or self-compacting mortar) and (b) the surface treatment of the textile in four configurations: uncoated textile (UT), coated with epoxy (E), fully coated with epoxy and sand (ES) or fully coated with epoxy and partial sand (EPS). From the results, it was mainly found that: all reinforced beams showed increases in (a) load-carrying capacity, (b) ductility and (c) toughness. Despite the great variability of results, the coating technique in the EPS textile specimens proved promising.