Experimental study of a rehabilitation solution that uses GFRP bars to replace the steel bars of reinforced concrete beams

The experimental study consisted on six full-scale RC beams subjected to a three-point bending test until failure. The specimens had stirrups without the bottom branch and were casted in two phases to simulate the replacement of the corroded and cracked bottom concrete. Two different GFRP reinforcement ratios were tested to assess the behaviour of the repaired beam regarding its service and ultimate states in comparison with the original beam with steel reinforcement. The results are presented and discussed in terms of flexural capacity, failure modes, deflection, crack pattern, mid-span crack width and reinforcement strains. It was concluded that the presented rehabilitation solution is easy to implement, can be designed according to general FRP design guidelines, and is able to restore the serviceability and ultimate limit states of the original RC beam.