An analytical model for predicting the response of RC beams strengthened with strain localized steel plate

• A strain localization mechanism is introduced.
• The behavior of RC beam strengthened by strain localized steel plate is analyzed.
• A parametric study is conducted for this new plating system.

A new plating system based on strain localization mechanism has been recently proposed for strengthening RC structures to overcome the debonding problem. With this new technique, weaker zones are placed on a steel plate to accommodate large local strains, hence delaying or preventing interfacial debonding. This paper develops an analytical method to predict the performance of RC beams strengthened with this new technique. The results agree well with those from finite element analyses. A parametric study is also conducted to investigate effect of the geometric dimension and material properties of the weaker zone on performance of such strengthened RC beam.