Strengthening techniques for progressive collapse mitigation in RC and precast structures: a selective review and the potential of stainless-steel wire mesh

This paper presents a review of strengthening and retrofitting techniques used to improve the progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) and precast structural assemblies. The retrofitting strategies include fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) systems applied as near-surface mounted and externally bonded reinforcement, steel plate systems, engineered cementitious composites and hybrid solutions. Their effectiveness has been reported in experimental, numerical and analytical studies on both full-scale and reduced-scale specimens. Although FRP-based strengthening techniques have been widely investigated, there are concerns related to debonding from the concrete surface, brittle failure and reduced performance at elevated temperatures, particularly under fire exposure. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the need to explore stainless-steel wire mesh (SSWM) as a viable and cost-effective alternative to conventional FRP materials for structural strengthening of concrete structures. The review compiles existing investigations on different SSWM-strengthened structural elements, which demonstrate improved structural response under various loading conditions. However, the application of SSWM for progressive collapse mitigation has been comparatively less explored. Therefore, this paper highlights the need to evaluate the effectiveness of SSWM in strengthening RC and precast beam-column assemblies under progressive collapse scenarios. Furthermore, the paper identifies key research gaps and outlines directions for future work, with the objective to facilitate the wider adoption of SSWM for structural strengthening and the development of guidelines for practicing engineers and researchers.