Flexural behaviour of narrow RC beams strengthened with hybrid anchored CFRP sheets

Abstract

Premature debonding failure is a serious problem for reinforced concrete (RC) members strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. Although various mechanical anchorage systems have been proposed to prevent debonding between CFRP and RC beam, these systems are generally difficult to apply to narrow RC beams due to width limitations. In this study, to resolve the debonding problems, an innovative hybrid end-anchorage system was developed, which achieves self-locking of the externally bonded CFRP sheets. To achieve this hybrid anchorage, both ends of the CFRP sheet were wrapped around twin rods, and the sheet was bonded along the length of the tension side of the beam. Then, to fix the twin rods, two L-shaped brackets were bolted on the side of the beams. In total, five RC beam specimens with rectangular cross sections were prepared and strengthened in different manners and then subjected to four-point bending tests. The enhancement effect of the hybrid anchorage on the flexural behaviour of the strengthened RC beams was validated. With a larger CFRP width, the strengthening effect was more notable, especially when the concrete strength grade was higher. Existing formulas were used to calculate the characteristic moments of the strengthened RC beams, including the cracking moment, yield moment and ultimate moment, and the applicability of the models was examined. Based on the test results, the formula for the ultimate moment of the specimens with the end anchorage requires further investigation.