Rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structural elements using fibre reinforced polymers and ferrocement

Abstract

newline The need for rehabilitating distressed reinforced concrete structures is of paramount necessity when considering the colossal cost and deleterious carbon footprint associated with the replacement of such structures. Among the various methods available for the rehabilitation of structures, Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites attained an upper hand owing to their numerous advantages, including -but not limited to- high strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to corrosion, easy and rapid application, and minimal difference in structural geometry. Externally bonded FRP laminates are found to be appreciably effective in strengthening the structural elements for flexure, shear, and confinement applications. Ferrocement is another proven technology for the rehabilitation of structural elements. The readily and locally available ingredients, less need of skilled labour, and simplicity in construction greatly encourage its use as a strengthening material. newlineNumerous studies are found in the literature on the strengthening effectiveness of FRPs and ferrocement. However, comparative studies on their rehabilitation potential are very few, or in some cases, are seldom found for some types of structural elements. Consequentially, this research attempted to undertake an experimental investigation on the rehabilitation of various structural elements using the two aforementioned types of composites. The variables selected for this investigation were (i) the strengthening material, and (ii) the level of pre-load induced to the structural elements prior to the rehabilitation. newline