Investigation on retrofitting of reinforced concrete beam with glass fiber and banana fiber mat

Abstract

Concrete is the predominant material in the construction industry. To be sustainable, the old Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings should be retrofitted, and the life of the building should be extended. Experimental study has been attempted to investigate the load carrying capacity of concrete beam strengthened with glass fiber and banana fiber mat. The primary aim of this study is to retrofit the RC beam specimen to enhance the load carrying capacity. All the beams were casted with the same grade of concrete (M30) and same structural detailing. Two-point symmetrical loading were given to the control beams to obtain load at initial crack and ultimate load. Then the beams other than control beams were loaded till it showes initial crack and then retrofitted with banana fiber and glass fiber bonded externally with resin. The retrofitted beams were tested for ultimate load performance. Load carrying capacity was higher for both retrofitting but the beam retrofitter with glass fiber showed significant improvement in the ultimate load carrying capacity.