Flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete inverted beams strengthened using fibre reinforced polymers and steel plates / Abdelrahman Medhat Kamal Abdallah ; Supervised Hatem Mostafa M. , Ezzeldin Kamel M.

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

The flexural behavior of reinforced concrete inverted beams strengthened in flexure was studied in the following thesis. A total of thirteen beams were experimentally tested in flexure. Twelve beams were strengthened in flexure using externally bonded CFRP sheets and steel plates. In addition near surface mounted CFRP strips were also used in strengthening of the inverted beams. During the tests certain variables were put into consideration. The effectiveness of using different strengthening material such as FRP and steel was investigated. Also, the significance of strengthening an inverted beam at the edges of the web and flange rather than at the centre of the web was analyzed. In addition, the effect of using different bonding lengths covering the whole clear span and half the span was tested. Moreover, the effectiveness of steel bolts and U-anchorage system on the behavior of the strengthening material was also observed and studied. During the tests the ultimate loads and failure modes of the strengthened beams were recorded and observed. Also, the strains in the main reinforcement and the strengthening material were recorded. In addition the load deflection curve was plotted and the ductility and rigidity of the beams were calculated and induced from the curve. Finally a list of conclusions and observations were identified and recorded at the end of following thesis

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