Repairing and strengthening techniques of RC beams: a review

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this review is to present the techniques for strengthening or repairing of reinforced concrete-beams (RC). The concrete members, like RC beam are might be required to be strengthened to increase the internal strength capacity to resist additional external loads or repaired to increase the design’s structural rigidity and insulate the reinforcement from aggressive conditions. The experimental studies that related to the techniques of repairing and strengthening of RC beams using: external steel plates, fiber reinforced concrete (FRC), reinforced concrete (RC) jacketing, sprayed fiber reinforced polymer FRP, epoxy injection, mortar jackets, near-surface carbon fiber (SNSM-CFRP) strips, near-surface glass fiber (NSM-GFRP) rods, CFRP laminate and sheet; and adding an ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) layer. All the techniques that were discussed showed that there is an improvement in the general behavior of the beams that have been strengthened and repaired, as well as an increase in the maximum load and ductility.