The Effect of CFRP Laminate Length for Strengthening the Tension Zone of the Reinforced Concrete T-Beam
Muhammad Mukhlesur Rahman *
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mohd Zamin Jumaat
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Most of the researches on strengthening so far had been focused on rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Researches on strengthening of RC T-beams are rather limited. This study focuses on the application of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate for strengthening the tension zone of RC T-beam constrained by the presence of a stump (representative of a column) and the effect of varying the length of the strengthening laminates. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening method, a total of three RC T-beams were fabricated and tested. The beams were tested using the three point bending test set-up. The results showed that the load carrying capacities of the tension zone strengthened beams were increased by about 50% compared to un-strengthened beams. The length of the CFRP laminate recommended in the Technical Report 55 did not prevent end peeling but it did increase the load bearing capacity of the RC T-beam.
Keywords: Tension zone, strengthening, continuous beam, carbon fiber, structure, negative moment