A Theoretical and Numerical Approach to Ensure Ductile Failure in Strengthened Reinforced Concrete Slabs with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Sheets

Abstract

While fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets effectively enhance the flexural strength of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs, excessive flexural strengthening can reduce ductility and lead to brittle failure. This study provides an overview of the failure limits for the end spans of continuous RC slabs, considering the relationship between moment and shear capacities. A design approach for maximizing the strength contribution and amount of carbon FRP (CFRP) while ensuring ductile failure in strengthened slabs was developed and refined based on ACI standard recommendations. The failure mode of the strengthened slab was validated through numerical analysis using Abaqus software by further investigating the stress distribution of flexural members. Analytical results indicated that a 0.15 mm thick CFRP layer could enhance the nominal failure load by 148% while preserving desirable ductile failure behavior, demonstrating the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach.