Description
Flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures with fiber reinforced
polymers (FRP) has been used mostly by two main techniques: Externally Bonded
Reinforcement (EBR) and Near-Surface Mounted (NSM). In both strengthening
techniques the FRP systems are applied on the cover concrete, which is normally the
weakest region of the element to be strengthened. Consequently, the most common
problem is the premature failure of the system, which occurs more frequently when
using the EBR technique. In an attempt of overcoming this weakness, another flexural
strengthening technique, named MF-EBR – Mechanically Fastened and Externally
Bonded Reinforcement, is analyzed in the present paper. This technique uses
multidirectional carbon fiber laminates that are simultaneously glued and anchored to
concrete. To compare the efficiency of NSM, EBR and MF-EBR techniques, four-point
bending tests with RC beams were carried out under monotonic and fatigue loading. In
this work the tests are described and the obtained results are presented and discussed.