Evaluation of the Effect of Polyurea Coating Application on the Capacity and Deformability of Reinforced Concrete Beams

Polyurea coatings as a possible structural reinforcement system is a research project involving the investigation of the potential of using polyurea coatings to improve the performance characteristics of structures (steel, concrete, timber and others used in construction). This study, which is part of the aforementioned project, focuses on evaluating the effect of polyurea coating application on the strength and deformability parameters of reinforced concrete elements. For the purposes of this publication, nonlinear cross-sectional analyses were carried out using a layered model, and the model was then calibrated and verified against experimental results. The study was supplemented by a numerical analysis of a reinforced concrete beam coated with polyurea, and the adopted numerical model was calibrated and verified using experimental results. For the calibration and verification of the computational models, experimental tests of reinforced concrete beams with a low degree of reinforcement (0.7%), were used. The results of the numerical analyses are consistent with those of the experimental studies, and an increasing effect of the polyurea coating is demonstrated with thicker layers of its application. Numerical analysis shows that the reinforcement ratio had a strong influence on the effectiveness of the polyurea coating.