Strengthening of RC Beams Retrofitted with External Truss - An Experimental Study

The study explores the experimental results of strengthening RC beams attached with external truss. The truss was designed and fabricated with 42 × 42 × 6 mm angle sections for tie members and 2 pieces of 180 × 3.4mm flats for strut. Two different struts with aheight of 300mm and 400mm were used. The result indicates that the load carrying capacity of the retrofitted beams could be increased 2.5 times and 2.7 times respectively compared to the basic beam; the maximum crack width at the ultimate stage was in the range of 2 to 2.5mm when compared to the basic beam (4 to 5 mm). However, the method adopted in the study has got many advantages such as enhancing the load carrying capacity, controlling the crack width, economical and easy to install.