Influence of the compressive strength of the concrete of CFRP strengthened RC beam

Abstract

A large number of existing RC structures, whether they have been built of concrete with usual compressive strength or of concrete with high compressive properties, exibit non adequate performance in terms of diminished bearing capacity and there is a need of post strengthening during their service life. This paper presents numerical analysis of the influence of the compressive strength of the concrete on the performance of the CFRP strengthened RC beam. Analysis is performed for two characteristic cases: when the bond between concrete and external reinforcement is continuous along the lenght of the beam and when the bond is improper executed creating discontinuity zone between RC and CFRP plate.