Parametric study on the behavior of CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete deep beams with cut circular web openings in shear spans

Web openings in reinforced concrete deep beams are often necessary for functional purposes but substantially reduce structural performance. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthening is commonly employed to mitigate these effects. Previous studies typically examined openings in regions without stirrups or assumed closed stirrup configurations, overlooking the frequent stirrup damage that occurs in practice due to the high shear reinforcement in deep beams. In this study, three specimens from a prior experimental program were modeled in ABAQUS, and the numerical results were validated against experimental data. Openings of varying diameters were introduced by cutting reinforcements, and the beams were subsequently strengthened with CFRP laminates, and a parametric study was conducted. Results showed that increasing opening diameter markedly reduces load-carrying capacity and energy absoption, while thicker CFRP laminates partially restore performance. For example, a 300 mm opening in a 500 mm high unstrengthened beam reduced load capacity by 56% and energy absorption by 87%. Even when the opening diameter was less than one-third of the beam height, 1.8 mm CFRP laminates provided only limited improvement. Deep beam performance was strongly influenced by web opening size, and the effectiveness of CFRP strengthening was limited when stirrup integrity was compromised.