Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Engineering - Department of Civil Engineering

Deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) beam capacity might occur due to introducing web openings to accommodate essential services such as air conditioning, electricity, telephone, and computer networks. In some cases, utility engineers require locating such openings close to supporting columns, where the shear forces are maximum. In this research, the influence of utilizing web openings near the supports on the behavior of RC beams was experimentally investigated. The enhancement in the behavior of these beams due to strengthening the openings with external Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets was estimated. Six RC beams having web openings with different sizes located near the supports were cast and tested under four-point load. Openings for two of these beams were strengthened using CFRP to evaluate the improvement in their behavior.Crack pattern, deflections, and strains of the six beams were compared to those of a reference solid RC beam without an opening. Experimental load-deflection and shear strength of the tested beams were compared to those predicted from analytical and code equations. The experimental results revealed that introducing large openings reduced the shear capacity of RC beams by up to 35% compared to that of a solid beam. Also, it was concluded that strengthening the web opening with CFRP sheets increased the shear capacity by 21% to 28% compared to similar beams without CFRP

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