Engineered cementitious composites for effective FRP-strengthening of RC beams

This paper presents the results of an experimental program designed to evaluate the performance of FRP-strengthened RC beams incorporating engineered cementitious composites (ECC) as a ductile layer around the main flexural reinforcement (ECC layered beams). The load-carrying and deflection capacities as well as the maximum FRP strain at failure are used as criteria to evaluate the performance. Further, 2-D numerical simulation is performed to verify the experimental results. The results have shown that ECC can indeed be used to delay debonding of the FRP resulting in effective use of the FRP material. These positive results warrant further studies on the use of ECC in combination with FRP to repair and strengthen deteriorating RC structures, particularly those where deteriorated concrete has to be replaced with a new repair material.