The structural performance of externally strengthened RCC beams made with GPC

Abstract

Cement is one of the prime ingredients in construction but at the same time a source of CO2 emission during its manufacture. In order to create a sustainable building material, Geopolymer concrete (GPC) was proposed by Davidovits in 1988 which could be viable substitute for conventional concrete production. In this study, totally 21 beam specimens were prepared with GPC of M30 grade which were externally strengthened by two systems of strengthening namely Externally Bonded Reinforcement System (EBR) and Near Surface Mounted System (NSM). Strengthening of existing beams will enhance the service life and service loading conditions of beams. In EBR system, 2 numbers of 6, 8 and 10mm diameter bars are bonded at the bottom face of RCC beams and in NSM system, different types of polymer sheets are attached at the bottom face of the beam such as Carbon, Glass and Aramid. Results show that, the beam specimens made with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets perform better than the other strengthening methods, and have 67% better load-carrying capacity than the control beam (beams without strengthening applications).