CALCULUS OPTIMIZATION OF A STRENGTHENING METHOD FOR A REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM USING CARBON FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER COMPOSITES.

In recent years, the need to rehabilitate / consolidate the existing built-up fund has become of particular importance for many reasons (extension of the construction exploitation period, economic considerations, etc.). This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation of flexural and shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) roof elements (T - section beams) with externally bonded Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips and sheets of a water tank. The assessment has been conducted using two software design programs. Firstly, the input data values have been collected on the basis of an experimental program. The numerical evaluation of the reinforced concrete structural element has been calculated as a simply supported beam using SCIA Engineer software program, by FEM (Finite Element Method), in order to determine the maximum values of the internal efforts (bending moment, shear force) in different load combinations. Subsequently, based on the results obtained, the design of the consolidation solutions using CFRP has been realised with the Sika® Carbodur® FRP Design program. This program allows the design of flexural strengthening (using the maximum value of the bending moment) to determine the dimensions of CFRP strip and the design of shear strengthening (using the maximum value of the shear force) to determine the dimensions and the number of layers of CFRP sheet. In the case of shear strengthening, it has been calculated two types of application of CFRP on the structural elements: continuous jacketing and discrete strips. The obtained results for both variants present some advantages and disadvantages. In both situations, the results are valid and the design is made according to the norms, conclude the fact that the use of CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) represents an effective consolidation method which can be used to repair and strengthen damaged/deteriorated beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]