Static and Fatigue Experimental Research on Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with Pre-Stress CFRP Rods

Abstract

In this paper, a total of six reinforced concrete beams including four beams strengthened with externally prestressed CFRP rods and two unstrengthened beams have been tested under monotonic and cylic loads in order to investigate the influence of a novel technique on the flexural static and fatigue behavior of the specimens. The experimental results show that the static and fatigue performance of strengthened members have been improved in terms of that the flexural capacity is greatly enhanced, the fatigue life is increased and the stress range of the internally tensile reinforcing bars is decreased as compared with the unstrengthened ones. It indicates that the developed technique can enhance the flexural capacity as well as improve the fatigue performance of RC members.