Effect of Multiple Layers of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer on Flexural Strength of Reinforced Concrete

Concrete is a very common construction material. As time prevails, cracks often appear in structures that pose a threat to strength and durability, which ultimately affect the structural integrity of concrete. Extensive work has been carried out in past on utilization of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) as a repair material. But, this research particularly focuses on: multiple fiber layers i.e. single and double, traditional concrete mix ratio with locally available materials and varying flexural reinforcement. Furthermore, this work presents an experimental analysis to strengthen the Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams using SikaWrap- 230 C as a CFRP wrap, and Sikadur-330 as a bonding material. The comparison between single and double layers of CFRP is of major interest in this research. Six reinforced concrete beams were repaired with CFRP and tested under three-point bending test. For these specimens, load deflection behavior along with crack propagation and failure of beams were studied. Experimental results show that beams repaired using CFRP wrapping achieved higher flexural capacity and ductility as compared with reference beam. Moreover, results reveal that introduction of second layer of fiber caused around 4-5.2% increment in flexural strength and resulted in higher ductility of RCC beam.