A method to assess capacity and deflection of flexural reinforced concrete members retrofitted with FRP

The rehabilitation of existing reinforced concrete structures and infrastructures becomes necessary due to ageing, corrosion of steel reinforcement, defects in construction/design, demand in the increased service loads, and damage in case of seismic events and improvement in the design guidelines. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) have emerged as promising material for rehabilitation of existing reinforced concrete structures. The use of externally bonded Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) sheets is an effective technique for strengthening and retrofitting of reinforced concrete beams especially under flexural loads. The use of FRP has been on the rise, mainly due to composite materials’ high strength and stiffness, non-corrosive nature and ease of installation. The purpose of retrofitting is to structurally treat the member with an aim to restore the structure to its original strength. Few investigations have performed to investigate the characteristics of retrofitted reinforced concrete flexural members. In the present study, a method for analyzing of the reinforced concrete beams retrofitted by FRP is proposed. The equilibrium equations and associated strain boundary conditions are used to determine the deflection and moment at each point along beam. As it is demonstrate in the numerical example, the proposed procedure can yield in efficient way, accurate result for FRP concrete beams.