The flexural behavior of beams strengthened with FRP grid and ECC

Abstract

Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is a new kind of random short fiber reinforced cementitious composite with ultra high ductility. Unlike common FRC, ECC is developed by optimizing the microstructure of the composite which exhibits tensile strain-hardening behavior with strain capacity more than 3%, yet the fiber content is typically 2% by volume or less. The flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced with CFRP grid (named NEFMAC) and ECC is studied in this paper. The behavior of concrete beams reinforced with ECC-NEFMAC is compared with the behavior of a beam reinforced with steel and carbon fiber sheet. The research investigates their flexural behavior including pre-cracking state, cracking pattern and width, deflections, ultimate capacities and strains, and the mode of failure. The information obtained throughout this investigation is valuable for future field application and development of design guidelines for ECC and FRP grids. © 2011 Tsinghua University Press, Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.