Finite Element Analysis of Shear Reinforcing of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Grid-Strengthened Engineering Cementitious Composite

Abstract

This study investigates the shear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams that have been strengthened using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) grids with engineered cementitious composite (ECC) through finite element (FE) analysis. The analysis includes twelve simply supported and continuous beams strengthened with different parameters such as CFRP sheets, CFRP grid cross-sectional area, and CFRP grid size. To conduct the analysis, FE models of the RC beams were created and analyzed using ABAQUS software. Research results show that the strengthened RC beams with CFRP grids and ECC had approx. 30–50% higher shear capacity than reference RC beams. The composite action of CFRP grids with the ECCs also showed a significant ability to limit diagonal cracks and prevent the degradation of the bending stiffness of the RC beams. Furthermore, this study calculated the shear capacity of the strengthened beams using an analytical model and compared it with the numerical analysis results. The analytical equations showed only a 4% difference from the numerical results, indicating that the analytical model can be used in practice.