Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Inorganic Bonding Materials for Near-Surface Mounting Shear Strengthening of Prestressed Concrete Beams

Abstract

Use of organic resins such as epoxy and vinyl esters as bonding materials in fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening of concrete members is widely accepted. However, the performance of organic resins is compromised when exposed to high temperature and extreme weather conditions leading to reduced durability of the strengthened systems. The present study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of inorganic (cement mortar and geopolymer mortar) bonding materials for shear strengthening of prestressed concrete (PSC) beams using the near-surface mounting (NSM) technique. Different types of bonding materials are used in this study for NSM shear strengthening including: (i) epoxy resin, (ii) high strength cement grout (HSCG) and (iii) geopolymer mortar. Bond tests were first conducted to evaluate the pull-out/bond strength of different bonding materials. Bond tests revealed that epoxy resin had the highest bond strength followed by geopolymer mortar and HSCG. Sixteen full-scale PSC beams were cast with and without stirrups. The beams were strengthened using NSM CFRP laminates oriented at 45-degree configuration and then tested under a three-point bending configuration. Experimental results revealed that the performance of high strength cement grout and geopolymer mortar was similar but with a lesser efficiency compared to the epoxy resin.