EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE FLEXURAL RESISTANCE OF RC BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH CFRP AND STEEL BARS USING THE NEAR SURFACE MOUNTED METHOD (NSM)
CFRP laminates; Steel bars; Flexural strengthening; RC beams; Cement-based Adhesive; Experimental results
Experimental tests were performed to investigate the flexural behavior of beams strengthened with the NSM technique, using steel bars and cement-based adhesive and CFRP laminates with epoxy-based resin. Nine beams were tested, one beam was used as reference, four beams were flexurally strengthened using different percentages of steel bars, and four beams were flexurally strengthened with varying rates of CFRP laminates. The experimental results show that both types of strengthening presented similar increases in strength. However, the beams strengthened with steel bars had a stiffer behavior, offering higher yield loads than those strengthened with CRFP. In addition, by raising the strengthening ratio, there was an increase in the strength and stiffness of the beam. Comparing the experimental results with the results estimated using the equations of ACI 440.2R (2017) and fib Bulletin 90 (2019), it can be concluded that both could estimate the failure mode and the ultimate load of the tested beans satisfactorily