AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON RC CONTINUOUS BEAM STRENGTHENED BY USING FRP SHEET

Strengthening structures using external bonding of advanced fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite is in its advent around the world from the past decade for it is more economically and technically effective and reliable substitute for the traditional structural engineering techniques in many applications as it possesses increased strength, light weight, corrosion free, high resistance to fatigue, si mple and speedy installation and reduced change in structural geometry. Although in many of the practical implementations, RC beams are continuous in construction, the research work on FRP is seldom performed which is needed to be in focus for cheap and re liable substitutes for the exiting traditional techniques As a part of current study, an experimental analysis is carried out on the behavioral attributes of continuous RC beams are subjected to static loading. These beams were reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets which were externally bonded to the beams. To study the behavior of these strengthened beams, these are strengthened at different locations and with different arrangements . The observed results indicate that the flexural str ength of RC beams can be consistently enhanced by attaching GFRP sheets to the tension face. Also, the epoxy bonded sheets enhanced the resistance to cracking of the beams by inhibiting the development of visible cracks and avoiding the increased crack wid ths at higher load levels.