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The efficiency of CFRP strengthening and repair system on the flexural

behavior of RC beams constructed with different concrete compressive
strength

Article in Results in Engineering · November 2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100763

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 Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Results in Engineering
journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/results-in-engineering

The efficiency of CFRP strengthening and repair system on the flexural

behavior of RC beams constructed with different concrete
compressive strength
Meyyada Y. Alabdulhady *, Mohammed F. Ojaimi, Aqeel H. Chkheiwer
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper presents experimental investigation on the effectiveness of CFRP strengthening and repair system on
CFRP composite the load carrying capacity, stiffness, flexural behavior, and failure mode mechanism of RC beams constructed
Concrete compressive strength
with different concrete compressive strength (fc ). Eight RC simply supported beams were strengthened and
′

Flexure strengthening
Moment
repaired with one layer of CFRP composite and tested experimentally under flexural load. The beams were built
with varying the concrete compressive strength (fc ) value of (21.1, 36.1, 48.2, and 68.5) MPa, to demonstrate
′
RC beams
Repair low, normal, and high strength. The results obtained in this work revealed that the performance of the CFRP
composite material was inversely correlated to the concrete compressive strength in repaired beams while a
proportion relation was observed in strengthened beams only with low to normal concrete strength. Finally,
reasonable agreement between the estimated bending moment capacities for strengthened beams (based on the
ACI 440.2R-17 provision) and the experimental results within ±16% were obtained.

1. Introduction adding externally bonded FRP material to RC beams for flexural

augmentation and improvement. In addition, researchers have focused
In recent decades, there has been an increased attention to their efforts on examining the effect of several parameters to assess the
strengthening or/and rehabilitation of existing reinforced concrete performance of the composite system by utilizing different fiber textiles
structures in buildings and bridges. The need for strengthening and/or or adjusting the composite configuration, changing number of plies,
rehabilitation arises because of the change in codes requirements, varying the reinforcing ratio, substrate surface preparation and uneven
changing in architectural layout that result in an increase in utilized levels of damage severity were also considered in their studies [7–26].
loading, deterioration of internal reinforcement caused by weather, and For instant, Alagusundaramoorthy et al. [14] and Attari et al. [17]
damage of the concrete cover because of corrosion, fire, and aging of studied the effectiveness of adding different layouts of externally
concrete, among other factors [1,2]. Furthermore, after an earthquake, bonded CFRP sheets on increasing the flexural strength of concrete
damaged structure elements must be retrofitted to restore their original beams. Esfahani et al. [12] examined experimentally the effect of in­
capacity [3,4]. As a result, many materials and products have been used ternal reinforcing ratio ρ on the flexural strength and behavior of the
to address these deficiencies, with a high degree of success. In com­ strengthened beams with considering the effect of varying the width,
parison with the old approaches for strengthening such as steel jackets length, and number of layers of CFRP sheets. Al-Shamayleh et al. [27]
and/or concrete size enlargements, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is presented experimentally and analytically the effectiveness of two types
the repairing technique that has been demonstrated to be the most of CFRP composites attached in six different configurations with three
successful and reliable system [5]. Higher amount of tensile strength to grades of concrete strength (17, 32, and 47) MPa. The results showed the
the weight ratio; higher durability, non-corrosion, and longer efficient effectiveness of the CFRP composite material was inversely proportional
service life of FRP composite material contributes to its efficacy and to the concrete strength. In case of repairing RC beams, Benjeddou et al.
strength [6]. [13] experimental study was conducted on repairing damaged RC beams
Several experimental tests have been conducted on the impact of with CFRP composite. Beams were constructed with two types of

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M.Y. Alabdulhady).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100763
Received 18 September 2022; Received in revised form 7 November 2022; Accepted 9 November 2022
Available online 11 November 2022
2590-1230/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

concrete strength C21 and C38 and repaired using different amounts of proportions for all series are listed in Table 1. For each series, concrete
CFRP laminates with considering the influences of changing different compressive strength was determined as the average of three 150 mm
parameters such as the damage degree and the CFRP laminate width. cubes according to BS EN 12390–3:2009 [33], while splitting tensile
The results revealed that, for any concrete type, the CFRP composite strength of each group was obtained from the average of three cylinders
added about a half of the load capacity. Fayyadh and Razak [19] with dimension of (diameter:150 mm, length: 300 mm) according to
investigated experimentally the effectiveness of adding CFRP sheets as a ASTM C496M [34]. All specimens in this campaign (beams, cubes, and
repaired material for RC beams with different levels of damage severity. cylinders) were casted at the same time and cured in the same manner by
It is obvious from the available literature that the efficiency and effec­ covering all the specimens with damp burlap. The curing lasted for
tiveness of CFRP strengthening and repair system on the flexural several days based on the compressive strength gained with considering
behavior of RC beams constructed with different concrete compressive reaching to 70% of the required compressive strength. Then all speci­
strength (fc ) has not yet been explored intensively. A very few studies
′
mens kept together under the same conditions in the lab until the testing
addressed the impact of concrete compressive strength on the day. The properties of the concrete are summarized in Table 3 and all the
strengthening and retrofitting of reinforced concrete members [8, required tests for the mechanical properties of internal reinforcement
27–30], therefore, more investigation needs to be considered for better and concrete are shown in Fig. 2.
understanding on such impact. Each series consist of two beams, one as a control, and the other
The goal of this study is to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of strengthened by using one layer of CFRP composite installed on the
CFRP strengthening and repair system on the load carrying capacity, tension zone. To elucidate repairing, the control beams were tested until
stiffness, flexural behavior, and failure mode mechanism of RC beams failure and then repaired with one layer of CFRP composite as in the
constructed with different concrete compressive strength (fc ). Eight RC
′
strengthened beams. The designation of each series is tabulated in
beams are strengthened and repaired with one layer of CFRP composite Table 4.
system. Concrete compressive strength is varied from low strength (21.1 Ordinary Portland Cement Type I was used in all mixes, which is
MPa) to normal (36.1 MPa) and high strength (48.2 and 68.5) MPa. complied with the requirements of ASTM C150M [35]. Natural fine and
Furthermore, a comparison of load-deflection behavior between coarse aggregates were utilized with specific gravity of 2.63 and 2.66
strengthened and repaired beams separately with different concrete and water absorption of (1.2 and 0.67) % for fine and coarse aggregate,
compressive strengths are presented and discussed. The estimation of respectively. The requirements for grading and quality of the fine and
ultimate moment capacity of strengthened beams by using ACI 440.2R- coarse aggregate were based on ASTM C33M [36] with aggregate
17 provision is also examined. maximum size of 20 mm. To produce a high strength concrete with low
water cement ratio and to control the workability, a third generation of
2. Experimental campaign superplasticizer (Sika ViscoCrete-180 GS [37]) based on Poly­
carboxylate polymers was used. Sika ViscoCrete-180 GS is a powerful
2.1. Specimens and materials superplasticizer which acts through several different mechanisms
including surface adsorption resulting in improved flow, placing and
Eight RC beams were cast with four different values of concrete compaction characteristics [37]. Tap water was used for preparing,
compressive strengths (low, normal, and high strength) (i.e., 21.1, 36.1, casting, and curing regimes.
48.2, and 68.5) MPa. The rules of the ACI 318 code [31] were employed
to design the under-investigated beams. All beams had the same di­ 2.2. CFRP composite material
mensions with (200, 250 and 1700) mm, for (width, depth, and length)
respectively as shown in Fig. 1. The concrete cover was 30 mm in all The CFRP composite used in this study consists of carbon fabric and
directions. The beams also had the same internal reinforcement details,
S420 deformed bars were used for both longitudinal and transverse re­ Table 1
inforcements, (2φ12 mm at top and bottom as a longitudinal rein­ Concrete mixture proportions.
forcement, and 10 mm bar at 80 mm as a transverse reinforcement). The Material (kg/m3) Quantity
ratios of internal reinforcement were 1.03% and 1.6% for flexural and
C:21 C:36 C:48 C:68
shear respectively. The mechanical properties of steel reinforcement
Cement Type I 300.0 402.0 447.0 548.0
were obtained from the average of three coupon samples that were
Coarse Aggregate 1113.5 1085.5 1068.0 1008.0
tested according to ASTM A370 [32] and the results are listed in Table 2. Fine Aggregate 782.5 723.5 710.5 674.0
Beams were classified into four series according to the concrete Water 204.0 189.0 170.0 164.5
compressive strength (C:21, C:36, C:48 and C:68). Concrete mixture Super Plasticizer – 2.15 5.15 6.85

Fig. 1. Beams dimensions and reinforcement details.

2
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

Table 2
Measured mechanical properties of internal reinforcement. Table 4
Beams designation.
Bar diameter (mm) φ 10 φ 12
Compressive strength, MPa Beam description Beam Designation
Sample No. 1 2 3 1 2 3
Yield Stress, MPa 488 493 490 549 554 550 C:21 Control A1
Standard deviation of yield stress, 2.52 2.65 Strengthened A2
MPa Repaired A3
Yield Stress, avg., MPa 490 551 C:36 Control B1
Ultimate strength, MPa 634 639 631 640 643 642 Strengthened B2
Standard deviation of ultimate 4.04 1.53 Repaired B3
strength, MPa C:48 Control C1
Ultimate strength, avg., MPa 635 640 Strengthened C2
Elongation, % 19 19 18.4 20 19.2 19.5 Repaired C3
Elongation, avg., % 18.8 19.6 C:68 Control D1
Modulus of elasticity, GPa 196 204 199 202 198 201 Strengthened D2
Modulus of elasticity, avg., GPa 200 200 Repaired D3

Table 3
Measured mechanical properties of concrete.
Material Concrete

C:21 C:36 C:48 C:68

Compressive strength, MPa 21.1 36.1 48.2 68.5

Splitting tensile strength, MPa 1.70 2.46 3.10 4.29

epoxy agent. The carbon fabric was SikaWrap®-300C [38] which is a

unidirectional woven fiber shown in Fig. 3, with the manufactural
properties listed in Table 5. The adhesive agent that is used for attaching
the carbon fibric sheet to the concrete substrate was Sikadur®-330
epoxy [39]. The epoxy agent consists of two-component which are
thixotropic epoxy-based impregnating resin and adhesive which is used
for attaching the carbon fabric sheet to the concrete substrate. The
mechanical properties of the epoxy adhesive, Sikadur®-330, based on Fig. 3. Carbon fabric.
the datasheet provided by the supplier are listed in Table 6.

2.3. Strengthening and repair procedure

The strengthening and repair procedures that were followed in this

work are summarized below and illustrated in Fig. 4: Table 5
Properties of carbon fiber (SikaWrap®-300 C).
1. For each beam, the Carbon fabric was cut into the desired length and Dry fiber Dry fiber Dry fiber Dry fiber Dry fiber
width (i.e., 200 × 1500) mm. density (g/ thickness tensile modulus of elongation at
2. To ensure a good bond between concrete and CFRP system, a grinder cm3) (mm) strength elasticity in break (%)
was used to roughen the tension surface of the beam, the lower face (MPa) tension (GPa)

of the beam. 1.82 0.167 4000 230 1.7

Fig. 2. Mechanical properties tests for a) rebar tensile strength b) concrete compressive strength c) splitting tensile strength.

3
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

Table 6 then with a roller to ensure the fabric is fully impregnated with a
Properties of epoxy resin (Sikadur®-330). resin.
Modulus of Tensile Modulus of Tensile Elongation at 6. For repaired beams, all the damaged concrete parts of the tested
elasticity in strength elasticity in adhesion break (%) control beams for all series were removed and the surface was
flexure (MPa) (MPa) tension (MPa) strength cleaned from any dust or loose material. In this procedure, Sikalatex
(MPa)
[40] which is a water-resistant bonding agent and mortar admixture
3800 30 4500 >4 0.9 with manufacture properties listed in Table 7, was used as a
replacement of all the damaged concrete parts and sealing the cracks.
The mix and application process of Sikalatex as a repair mortar was
3. An air blower was used to remove all dust and dirt in order to clean
followed as mentioned in the data sheet [40]. Sikalatex was blended
the roughened surface.
with the same portion of water and then added to a dry mix of cement
4. The two epoxy agents were mixed properly by following the in­
and sand, mixed well then applied on the concrete surface. The
struction in Sikadur®-330 datasheet [38]. For each beam, a thin
repaired beams were left seven days for curing of the repair mortar
layer of prepared epoxy agent was applied on the tension surface.
before steps 2 to 5 were followed. The repair sequence is shown in
5. A dry method was used to install the strengthening system. The dry
Fig. 5. All beams (strengthened and repaired) were left at least seven
fabric was fixed on the fresh epoxy layer by pressing with hand first

Fig. 4. Composite installation procedure for strengthened beams a) cutting the fabric b) roughen the tension surface c) surface cleaning d) applying the epoxy resin
then the fabric e) finished surface.

Fig. 5. Repair procedure a) blending the Sikalatex with water b) mixing cement and sand with the wet part c) applying the repair mortar on the damaged area d)
flatten and roughen the tension surface e) applying the epoxy resin then the fabric.

4
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

days at the room temperature, according to the manufacturer’s in­ Table 7

struction [39], for curing and hardening the epoxy resin before Properties of Sikalatex.
testing. Compressive strength (MPa) Flexural strength (MPa) Bond Strength (MPa)

35 6.5 1.5

2.4. Test setup and loading protocol

respectively. The mode of failure of the strengthened beams had a major
The beams under investigation were subjected to four-point bending impact on the improvement of the ultimate load which will be discussed
test. The details and the locations of the four points loads are illustrated in the following section.
in Fig. 6. To apply the load on the specimens, a Universal Testing Ma­ For repaired beams, the uncracked flexural stiffness trend and the
chine (UTM) with a maximum load capacity of 500 kN was used. The overall behavior were the same in compare with the control beam in
beams were considered as simply supported with clear space of 1600
series with normal to high concrete compressive strength of fc = (36.1,
′

mm between the supports (Fig. 6). Midspan deflection was measured by

48.2 and 68.5) MPa, Fig. 7(b, c and d). A slight improvement in the
using a digital laser dial indicator which is more accurate than the other
ultimate load capacity up to (18.2, 9.8 and 11.6) % for beams (B3, C3
gauges for precise reading. A load control protocol was performed with a
and D3) respectively. On the other hand, the repaired beam with low
constant load increment of 5 kN per min until the failure of the spec­
magnitude of concrete compressive strength of fc = 21.1 MPa, beam A3,
′

imen. When the first crack occurred, the load was suspended for few
Fig. 7a, exhibited the same uncracked stiffness tendency as the control
seconds to label the cracks and to take pictures.
beam whereas the ultimate load capacity was considerably improved up
to 44.9%. This recovery in repaired beams indicating that adding CFRP
3. Experimental results
composite system as external reinforcement was a successful technique
on restoring the original capacity and adding extra strength. This elab­
3.1. Load-deflection response
oration was tangible in beam with low concrete compressive strength
with improvement up to 44.9%, while the enhancement decreased as the
Fig. 7 shows the experimental relationship between applied load and
concrete compressive strength increased.
mid-span deflection curves for the tested beams. The summary of
The ultimate deflection Δu for repaired beam A3 with low concrete
experimental results is listed in Table 8. The test results in Table 8 in­
strength of fc = 21.1 MPa, increased by 20.2%, while the deflection for
′

cludes the ultimate applied load Pu which is the largest load (the ulti­
repaired beam with concrete strength of fc = 36.1 MPa remained un­
′

mate) was carried by the beams and corresponding deflection Δu which

measured at beam midspan. The overall behavior of control beam in changed (beam B3). On the other hand, beams with higher compressive
strength of fc = (48.2 and 68.5) MPa, the ultimate deflection was
′
each series exhibited the same trend. This behavior can be divided into
three phases. The elastic behavior phase characterized by a linear trend decreased up to (33.2 and 22.4) % for beams (C3 and D3) respectively.
until the first crack initiated from the tension zone (the lower face of the Notify that, all strengthened beams suffered from high reduction in the
beam) occurred. Then the second phase described by a non-linear ultimate deflection (i.e., 24.1, 54.5 and 31.8) % for beams (B2, C2, and
behavior phase with a reduction in the bending stiffness due to the D2) respectively, except for beam A2 which had higher deflection than
cracked section of the beam. The last phase started with yielding of steel the control beam. As a result of adding the CFRP composite as un extra
bars in the tension zone and ended with reaching to the maximum flexural reinforcement for high strength concrete beams, the deflection
applied load (failure load). For the strengthened and repaired beams, the noticeably decreased. This can be explained by the nature of the CFRP
overall behavior (i.e., load-deflection response) was the same with the composite system which is a linear elastic behavior with a brittle failure
behavior of the control beam except for the last phase, the external CFRP that led to loss some of the ductility of the structure [41–43].
system contribution engaged as an additional reinforcement for carrying To examine the contribution of CFRP system as an external flexural
the additional applied load with the internal reinforcement until failure. reinforcement with the influence of varying the concrete compressive
The load deflection response of strengthened beams clearly showed strength on the strengthening and repaired beams separately, the
the high impact of the CFRP composite system on the overall behavior in strengthening beams from each series were collected together in one
compare with the control beam for all series as illustrated in Fig. 7. The graph which is illustrated in Fig. 8a and similarly with the repaired
uncracked section had a stiffer behavior in compare with the stiffness of beams as shown in Fig. 8b. CFRP system was more efficient in
the control beam as well as the repaired beam in all series. The highest strengthened beams than the repaired beams by improving the strength.
increased in the load carrying capacity was for beam B2 with concrete The improvement was noticeable for the strengthened beam B2 with
compressive strength of fc = 36.1 MPa. The improvement was up to
′
concrete compressive strength of 36.1 MPa while the increase in the
54.5% in compare with the control beam B1. Moreover, the contribution ultimate capacity was less prominent for beams with higher concrete
of the CFRP composite for the rest of the strengthened beams on the strength. This significant improvement in the capacity can be related to
ultimate load was (50.0, 37.3 and 46.2) % for beams (A2, C2 and D2) the failure mode (fiber ruptured governed the failure for beam B2 which

Fig. 6. Details of the test setup.

5
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

Fig. 7. Load deflection relationship.

will be discussed in the next section) or the value of concrete

Table 8
compressive strength of 36.1 MPa could be the saturation point for the
Summary of test results.
current study. On the other hand, the repaired beams experienced a
Beam Pu % Increase Δu % Change Failure Modes slightly improvement in the load carrying capacity as the concrete
(kN) in Pu (mm) in Δu
compressive strength increased (Fig. 8b). The overall behavior was
A1 86.3 – 12.9 – Yielding of steel nearly the same for all repaired beams. It should be noted that the
followed by concrete
performance of the CFRP composite material was inversely correlated to
crushing
A2 129.4 50.0 14.5 12.4 Debonding
the concrete compressive strength in repaired beams while a proportion
A3 122.6 44.9 15.5 20.2 Delamination relation was observed in strengthened beams only with low to normal
B1 107.9 – 14.0 – Yielding of steel concrete strength.
followed by concrete
crushing
B2 166.7 54.5 10.62 − 24.1 Yielding of steel 3.2. Failure modes
followed by fiber
rupture Failure modes for control, strengthened and repaired beams are
B3 127.5 18.2 14.3 0.2 Debonding
shown in Figs. 9–11 respectively. A closer shoot to different modes of
C1 125.0 – 22.31 – Yielding of steel
followed by concrete
failure is illustrated in Fig. 12. Control beams in all series (A1, B1, C1,
crushing and D1) were failed due to yielding of the internal steel reinforcement in
C2 171.6 37.3 10.16 − 54.5 Debonding the tension zone followed by crushing of concrete in the compression
C3 137.3 9.8 14.9 − 33.2 Debonding zone at beam mid-span. Vertical flexural cracks first formed between the
D1 127.5 20.1 Yielding of steel
two-points load at the beam mid-span then propagated towards the
– –
followed by concrete
crushing compression zone as the load increased. Moreover, flexural-shear cracks
D2 186.3 46.2 13.7 − 31.8 Debonding appeared close to the supports and then spread with inclination across
D3 142.2 11.6 15.6 − 22.4 Yielding of steel the compression zone.
followed by fiber
The strengthened beams in all series failed due to the debonding of
rupture
the CFRP sheet near the support region (Fig. 12a) except for beam B2
which failed due to fiber ruptured located at the beam midspan
(Fig. 12c). This failure was sudden and generated loud noise due to the

6
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

Fig. 8. Load-deflection relationship comparison for a) strengthened beams b) repaired beams.

Fig. 9. Failure modes of control beams for a) C:21 b) C:36 c) C:48 d) C:68.

rapid release of energy that was hold by the composite. During the test,
more cracks were spotted in compare with the cracks that formed in the
control beam which were less and wider. That indicates, the CFRP Fig. 10. Failure modes of strengthened beams for a) C:21 b) C:36 c) C:48
composite helped to distribute the load throughout the entire tension d) C:68.
surface with better usage of the composite as an external flexural rein­
forcement as well as arresting of the cracks that formed in the tension Delamination of the CFRP sheet with a thin layer of concrete cover was
zone from widen and propagation. occurred in beam A3 (Fig. 12b), which is because of the low value of
Three different mode of failure was observed in the repaired beams. concrete compressive strength (fc = 21.1 MPa). While CFRP sheet was
′

7
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

= 48.2 MPa. However, more investigations are needed with concrete

strength higher than 68.5 MPa to confirm the value of saturated point.
From the above observations and discussion, all strengthened and
repaired beams failed due to debonding or delamination of the com­
posite except for beam B2. In these failure modes, the full composite
capacity was not reached and the precise relationship with the concrete
compressive strength was not clear. Therefore, a suitable anchorage
system is suggested to be used in further investigation to elaborat the
composite with its full capacity by inducing fiber rupture failure
mechanism.

4. Estimation of bending capacity for strengthened beams

In this section, the process of estimating the ultimate moment ca­

pacity for strengthened beams is presented and discussed. The ACI
440.2R-17 code provision guidance [44] was followed for the estima­
tion. The nominal flexural strength is calculated based on the following
equation according to Fig. 13:
( ) ( )
βc βc
Mn = As f s d − 1 + Af f f e df − 1 (1)
2 2
Where Mn is the nominal flexural strength (N.mm), As is the area of
steel reinforcement (mm2), fs is the stress in steel reinforcement (MPa),
d is the distance from extreme compression fiber to centroid of tension
reinforcement (mm), c is the distance from extreme compression fiber to
the neutral axis (mm), Af is the area of FRP external reinforcement

Fig. 11. Failure modes of repaired beams for a) C:21 b) C:36 c) C:48 d) C:68.

debonded without separating any of concrete cover near supports

observed in beams B3 and C3 (Fig. 12a) which both had higher concrete
compressive strength than beam A2. Beam D3 failed due to rupture of
the fiber near the beam mid-span zone (Fig. 12c). Even though the
failure mode of beam D3 which constructed with the highest concrete
compressive strength (fc = 68.5 MPa) was due to fiber rupture, the
′

improvement in the ultimate capacity was nearly as the value of beam

C3 as shown in Fig. 8b. Therefore, the saturation point of concrete
compressive strength for repaired beams in the current study could be fc Fig. 13. Stress distribution over the section depth.
′

Fig. 12. Closer shoot for different mode of failure a) debonding b) cover delamination c) fiber rupture.

8
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

(mm2), ffe is the effective stress in the FRP (MPa), df is the effective depth
of FRP flexural reinforcement (mm) and β1 is the ratio of the depth of
equivalent rectangular stress block to a depth of the neutral axis which
depends on the concrete compressive strength. β1 is 0.85 for concrete
with f c is ≤ 27.6 MPa, and 0.05 less for each 6.9 MPa of f c greater than
′ ′

27.6 MPa, however, β1 should be not less than 0.65 as given in ACI 318
code [31].
In this study, all strengthened beams failed due to yielding in the
internal reinforcement followed by the failure in the CFRP composite
system either in debonding of the strips from the beam substrate or
rupture of the fiber as discussed in previous section (Section 3.2).
Therefore, the stress in the internal reinforcement is taken as the yield
stress (fy). The stress in the FRP is set to its effective stress as f f e =
km .f f u , where f f u is the ultimate tensile strength of the CFRP material as
reported by the manufacturer (MPa) [38], km is a bond-dependent
coefficient which can be calculated using Eq. (2) below [45]:
⎧ ( )
⎪ 1 n.Ef .tf
⎪
⎨ 60εf u 1 − 360000 ≤ 0.90 f or n.Ef .tf ≤ 180000
⎪
Fig. 14. Comparison between the experimental and estimated bending capac­
km = ( ) (2)
⎪
⎪ 1 90000 ity with the varying of the concrete compressive strength.
⎪
⎩ ≤ 0.90 f or n.Ef .tf > 180000
60εf u n.Ef .tf
estimating the ultimate moment capacity for strengthened beams with
Where n is the number of FRP plies, Ef is FRP tensile modulus of elas­ variation of concrete compressive strength between 30 and 70 MPa.
ticity (MPa), tf is one ply of FRP nominal thickness (mm). However, more investigations are needed with wider range of values for
The depth of the neutral axis c can be found from Equation (3) [46], the concrete compressive strength to support these findings.

As .f y + Af .km .f f u
c= ′ (3) 5. Conclusions
0.85f c .β1 .b
In this study, the effectiveness of CFRP strengthening and repair
Where f c is the concrete compressive strength (MPa) and b is the beam
′
system on the load carrying capacity, stiffness, flexural behavior, and
width (mm). The estimated value of the ultimate moment capacity failure mode mechanism of RC beams constructed with different con­
(Mest.) of strengthened beams which was calculated based on the ACI crete compressive strength (fc ) were examined. Eight RC beams were
′

440.2R-17 [38], (Equation (1)), is compared to the experimental value

constructed with different concrete strength (fc ) (i.e., 21.1, 36.1, 48.2,
′

(Mexp.). The estimated and experimental values are summarized in

and 68.5) MPa, (low, normal, and high strength) then strengthened and
Table 9 and depicted in Fig. 14. The values of Mest. are in reasonable
repaired with one layer of CFRP composite system to be evaluated
agreement with those of Mexp., within ±16%. In spite of the failure mode
experimentally under flexural load. The following significant conclu­
was governed by debonding of the majority of the strengthened beams
sions were obtained:
(i.e., A2, C2 and D2) without reaching to the full capacity of the CFRP
composite system, the estimation was acceptable in compare with the
1. For strengthened beams, beam B3 with fc = 36.1 MPa demonstrated
′

experimental results. The estimated value was higher than the experi­
a higher increase in the load carrying capacity (about 54.5%) in
mental value for the beam with low concrete compressive strength (f c =
′

compare with the control beam B1, with fiber rupture governed the
21.1 MPa, Beam A2) while for beams with higher concrete strength, the failure.
divergence in the results has increased significantly with under­ 2. For repaired beams, beam A3 with low value of concrete compressive
estimating the value of ultimate moment capacity with up to (16%) for
strength of fc = 21.1 MPa, showed the highest improvement in the
′

beam D2.
ultimate load capacity (about 44.9%) in compare with the control
In addition to above explanation, it is notable that as the concrete
beam A1, with composite delamination governed the failure.
compressive strength (f c ) increased up to (225%) in compare with the
′

3. Beams with low concrete compressive strength of fc = 21.1 MPa

′

lower value of concrete strength (f c = 21.1 MPa), the increase in the

′

suffered from higher deflection than the control beam, while the
bending moment capacity was only (12%) from the estimated calcula­ deflection was less than or equal in the control beams for the rest of
tions based on Equation (1). Whereas the experimental evidence showed the strengthened and repaired beams in all series.
a significant improvement in the ultimate moment capacity up to (44%) 4. The performance of the CFRP composite material was inversely
with an increase in the concrete compressive strength up to (225%). correlated to the concrete compressive strength in repaired beams
Based on the above results and according to ACI 440.2R-17 provision, while a proportion relation was observed in strengthened beams only
the varying of concrete compressive strength may not be significantly with low to normal concrete strength.
have an impact on the ultimate moment capacity. It can be clearly 5. Three failure modes were observed in this study: debonding of the
concluded that the ACI 440.2R-17 approach is appropriate for composite from concrete substrate in beams (A2, B3, C2, C3, and

Table 9
The compared values between the experimental (Mexp.) and estimated (Mest.) bending capacity of the strengthened beams.
Beam fc (MPa)
′
% Increase in fc
′
Mexp. (kN.m) % Increase in Mexp. Mest. (kN.m) % Increase in Mest. Mexp./Mest.

A2 21.1 – 42.1 – 46.5 – 0.90

B2 36.1 71 54.2 29 49.9 7 1.09
C2 48.2 128 55.8 33 51.1 10 1.09
D2 68.5 225 60.5 44 52.2 12 1.16

9
M.Y. Alabdulhady et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100763

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial strengthening techniques, Adv. Struct. Eng. 25 (2) (2022) 355–373.
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