NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS STRENGTHENED BY FIBER REINFORCED POLYMERS: AN EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

Although, reinforced concrete structures with quality design, good construction and reasonable maintenance show a long life service, unfortunately, repair and strengthening of existing R.C structures, due to distress, is a worldwide need. Inadequate design and construction, increase in live load on the structure, deterioration of concrete and corrosion of embedded reinforcement, increase in fatigue loading, increased crack widths, and excessive deflection are just some of the reasons why a structure might become structurally deficient. Once this has happened, two alternatives of fixing the problem exist, one is to replace the structure and the other is to strengthen it. Economically, repair and strengthening are often the only viable solution. Past experience seems to indicate that the future of repair R.C. of structures is assured and the next century promises to be even busier than the present.