article · Structural Concrete
Strengthening reinforced concrete beams with engineered cementitious composites and stainless steel plates offers a practical way to enhance structural performance. Combining the strain-hardening properties of engineered cementitious composites with stainless steel plates alters structural failure patterns and increases ultimate shear capacity. Static load tests on ten reinforced concrete beams demonstrated that varying composite thickness alongside plate shapes and configurations produced shear capacity gains of thirty-six to ninety-seven percent over unstrengthened beams. Experimental measurements were compared against predictions from standard design equations. To improve analytical accuracy, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element models were developed and validated against physical tests. The combined experimental and numerical findings enabled the formulation of new shear capacity equations that account directly for the ratio of composite material to the concrete beam cross-section.
Reinforced concrete structures frequently require retrofitting to withstand higher loads and avoid brittle shear failures. Demonstrating that advanced cementitious composites paired with stainless steel plates substantially raise shear resistance provides structural engineers with reliable options for infrastructure rehabilitation. The accompanying design formulae also offer a clearer computational basis for safely predicting structural capacity.
This work is an applied and tested approach targeting structural engineering firms, infrastructure maintenance contractors, and materials suppliers involved in building refurbishment. The technology remains at a laboratory validation stage, having demonstrated measurable performance in component testing and numerical simulation, but it requires further standardisation and field-scale testing before it can be directly specified in commercial building practice.
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Abstract This paper investigates the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams incorporating engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and stainless steel plates (SSPs). The use of ECC, characterized by strain‐hardening in conjunction with SSPs, was investigated in this study to improve the shear performance of RC beams. Total 10 RC beams were tested under static loading up to failure to investigate a few key parameters, namely: material of strengthening (ECC and SSPs), the thickness of ECC, and shape and configuration of SSPs. Experimental findings showed that the proposed strengthening methods can significantly improve the failure pattern and increase the ultimate shear capacity of the studied RC beams by 36%–97% compared to the unstrengthened beam. Experimental results were compared against the predicted ultimate shear strength of RC beams using design equations specified by various design codes. Nonlinear three‐dimensional finite element modeling was developed for beams strengthened with ECC layer and validated against the test results and found to be accurate. Based on the experimental and numerical results, new shear capacity formulae were proposed considering the ratio of ECC‐to‐concrete beam cross‐section ( ρ ECC ) and then verified against the numerical predictions.
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DOI: 10.1002/suco.202200226
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