Abstract
This paper describes the results of experimental testing of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite beam strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with two symmetrical openings. Specimens, one-half scale, have been designed and fabricated to reflect the most common RC bathroom slab used in school buildings. The specimen had dimensions of 2000 mm (width) × 150 mm (thickness) × 3000 mm (length) were used with the two openings of 300 mm × 400 mm. The aim of this study is to investigate the most effective strengthening method using GFRP composite beams in slabs with openings for enhancing the load-carrying capacity and stiffness. Test results showed that the strengthened slabs seems to increase the load-carrying capacity by 29%, 21% and 12% over that of the control specimen for diagonal, parallel and surround strengthening respectively. Furthermore, test results showed that the diagonal-strengthened system is one of the most effective methods for strengthening an RC slab with openings in terms of load-carrying capacity, stiffness and crack patterns.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1352-1361 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Polymers |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- Crack pattern
- Failure mode
- GFRP composite beam
- RC slab
- RC-strengthening