Prediction of Deflection Progression of RC Beams Strengthened with NSM FRP Composites BT - 10th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering

Abstract

Deflection progression of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams under cyclic loads gives a reliable indication of the accumulation of fatigue damages. Excessive increase in deflection of RC beams raises a red flag for an immediate need for rehabilitation. This paper presents an analytical model for predicting the deflection progression of RC beams strengthened with Near Surface Mounted (NSM) Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) reinforcement. The analytical model was validated and compared to experimental and numerical analyses. Three-dimensional strengthened RC beam was modeled using ANSYS software with similar dimensions and material properties of specimens that were experimentally tested. Numerical simulations were performed for the RC beam under tension-tension constant amplitude cyclic loads. The analytical model predicted the increase in deflection because of the cyclic creep of concrete during the fatigue life of RC beams. Satisfactory correlation and consistency were noticed between the numerical and analytical predictions with a mean error of deflection less than 9.5%.