Flexural Performance of Deficient RC Beams Repaired with GFRP Composite

Fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials have been improved for use in repairing and strengthening existing infrastructure over the past few decades. This case study focuses on the effect of confinement with GFRP strips on the structural performance of out-of-service beams in bridge applications due to the impact of over-height vehicles or inadequate lap-spliced reinforcements. In this study, beams with inadequate lap splices in the tension zone were utilized to mimic the damaged area in out-of-service RC beams. The proposed repair technique is a glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite in the form of longitudinal sheets and U-wrapped strips. The experimental study determined the ultimate load capacity, energy absorption, ductility, and mode of failure for different GFRP configurations. The test results revealed that the GFRP repair technique was partially able to restore the load-carrying capacity in the range between 70% and 92% of that in the reference beam (without any damage). Additionally, a comparison study was conducted with other case studies related to damaged beams repaired using different techniques and theoretical results. The three repair techniques were transverse steel reinforcement, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), and steel-reinforced polymer (SRP). The comparison study indicated that the effect of the techniques’ configuration is important in the case of repairing damaged beams.