SHEAR STRENGTHENING OF RC DEEP BEAMS USING GLASS CHOPPED STRAND MAT (GCSM)

Abstract

The strengthening of existing reinforced concrete structures is required due to substantial increment in service and live loads or due to the severe environmental deterioration. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) has been a popular material for strengthening technique due to its high strength, ease of use and lightweight. The current paper presents an experimental investigation of shear strengthening of RC deep beams with glass chopped strand mat (GCSM). Six rectangular deep beams were constructed and tested in the same manner. One beam was used as a control specimen and the remaining five were strengthened with different layers and wrapping schemes. The experimental results show that externally bonded GCSM is effective to increase the shear strength of RC deep beams. Its contribution depends on the thickness and bonded configurations of fiber composites. An increasing number of GCSM layers leads to increase the shear strength of RC deep beams. U-wrapped bonded GCSM strengthening is more effective compared to two-sided bonded.