SHEAR CAPACITY PREDICTION FOR STIRRUP-CORRODED RC BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH FRP

Corrosion of steel reinforcement represents one of the main causes of deterioration and degradation of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Shear reinforcements (stirrups) as an outer reinforcement in RC beams are more susceptible to corrosion problems and damage. This paper describes an analytical procedure for predicting the shear capacity of stirrup-corroded RC beams strengthened in shear using FRP laminates. The procedure shows how to incorporate the effects of the damages due to corrosion of stirrups into the design equations. An experimental investigation has been conducted to provide experimental data on the shear capacity of RC beams with corrosion-damaged stirrups strengthened using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The experimental study comprised three beams of 200 mm wide, 350 mm deep, and 2800 mm long. The steel stirrups in the beams were corroded using an accelerated corrosion technique. After CFRP strengthening, the beams were tested in four-point bending under a simply supported span of 2400 mm. The shear capacity of the strengthened beams was predicted using the proposed procedure and compared with the experimental ones. Good correlations were found between the predicted and experimental shear strength of the beams.