It is known that the vast majority of buildings in Turkey are made out of reinforced concrete (RC). The 1999 Kocaeli and Düzce, the 2010 Elazig, and the 2011 Van earthquakes that occurred in Turkey revealed that the most significant factor in causing damage to buildings, or their collapse, was the use of low quality concretes, i.e., concretes with low strength values, in their construction This reveals that the load bearing members of these structures should be reinforced against the effects of possible earthquakes. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) usage on the behavior of beams made out of low strength concrete. Within the scope of the study, the results of the experimental and numerical analysis for 14 RC beams, to which CFRP plates were applied on their lower surface, as well as for two reference beams, were presented for the case of collapsing. From the start of the test to the end, load, deflection and deformation data obtained from the beams were collected and then, by the identification of the collapsing mechanism as well as the load-deflection relation, the behavior of the beams was discussed in detail. In the numerical study, moment capacities were obtained for CFRP applied beams with different concrete strength values by using the material properties of the specimens examined in the mechanical test. The results of the numerical analysis were compared with those of the experimental tests, which were found to be consistent with each other.
ScawthornC., JohnsonG. S., Preliminary Report Kocaeli (Izmit) Earthquake of 17 August 1999, Engineering Structures, 2000; 22(7), 727–745.
2.
CelepZ., ErkenA., TaskinB., IlkiA., Failures of Masonry and Concrete Buildings during the March 8, 2010 Kovancilar and Palu (Elazig) Earthquakes in Turkey, Engineering Failure Analysis, 2011; 18(3), 868–889.
Turkish Earthquake Code for Buildings, Specification for Buildings to be Built in Earthquake Areas, Ministry of Public Works and Resettlement, Ankara, Turkey, (2007).
6.
GaoB., LeungC. K. Y., KimJ. K., Failure Diagrams of FRP Strengthened RC Beams”, Composites Structures, 2007; 77(4), 493–508.
7.
Eurocode 2, Concrete Structures Code, Eurocode for the Design of Structures, (1993).
8.
Turkish Standards 500, “Requirements for Design and Construction of Reinforced Concrete Structures”, Turkish Standards Institute, Ankara, Turkey, (2001).
9.
BalamuralikrishnanR., JeyaseharA., Flexural Behavior of RC Beams Strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Fabrics, The Open Civil Engineering Journal, 2009; 3, 102–109.
10.
KachlakevD., McCurryD. D., Behavior of Full-Scale Reinforced Concrete Beams Retrofitted for Shear and Flexural with FRP Laminates, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2000; 31(6–7), 445–452.
11.
ObaidatY. T., HeydenS., DahlblomO., Abu-FarsakhG., Abdel-JawadY., Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Beams using Composite Laminates, Construction and Building Materials, 2011; 25(2), 591–597.
12.
WangY. C., LeeM. G., ChenB. C., Experimental Study of FRP Strengthened RC Bridge Girders subjected to Fatique Loading, Composites Structures, 2007; 81(4), 491–98.
13.
SaadatmaneshH., MalekA. M., Design Guidelines for Flexural Strengthening of RC Beams with FRP Plates, Journal of Composites and Construction, 1988; 2(4), 158–164.
14.
AprileA., and BenedettiA., Coupled Flexural-Shear Design of R/C Beams Strengthened with FRP, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2004; 35(1), 1–25.
15.
NardoneF., LignolaG. P., ProtaA., ManfrediG., and NanniA., Modeling of Flexural Behavior of RC Beams Strengthened with Mechanically Fastened FRP Strips, Composites Structures, 2011; 93(8), 1973–1985.
16.
AlmusallamT. H., and Al-SalloumY. A., Ultimate Strength Prediction RC Beams Externally Strengthened by Composite Materials, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2001; 32(7), 609–619.
17.
CamataG., SpaconeE., ZarnicR, Experimental and Nonlinear Finite Element Studies of RC Beams Strengthened with FRP Plates, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2007; 38(2), 277–288.
18.
RasheedH. A., PervaizS., Closed Form Equations for FRP Flexural Strengthening Design of RC Beams, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2003; 34(6), 539–550.
19.
SobuzH. R., AhmedE., SutanN. M., HasanN. S., UddinA., UddinJ., Bending and Time-Dependent Responses of RC Beams Strengthened with Bonded Carbon Fiber Composite Laminates, Construction and Building Materials, 2012; 29 (April-2012), 597–611.
20.
ChenG. M., ChenJ. F., TengJ. G., On the Finite Element Modelling of RC Beams Shear-Strengthened with FRP, Construction and Building Materials, 2012; 32 (July-2012), 13–26.
MaalejM., LeongK. S., Effect of Beam Size and FRP Thickness on Interfacial Shear Stress Concentration and Failure Mode of FRP-Strengthened Beams, Composites Science and Technology, 2005; 65(7–8), 1148–1158.
23.
HadiM. N. S.Retrofitting of Shear Failed Reinforced Concrete Beams, Composites Structures, 2003; 62(1), 1–6.
24.
RabinovitchO., FrostigY., Experiments and Analytical Comparison of RC Beams Strengthened with CFRP Composites, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2003; 34(8), 663–677.
25.
FerrettiD., SavoiaM., Non-linear Model for R/C Tensile Members Strengthened by FRP-Plates, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2003; 70(7–8), 1069–1083.
26.
AkbarzadehH., MaghsoudiA. A., “Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Reinforced High Strength Concrete Continuous Beams Strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymer”, Materials and Design, 2010; 31(3), 1130–1147.
27.
EsfahaniM. R., KianoushM. R., TajariA. R., Flexural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened by CFRP Sheets, Engineering Structures, 2007; 29(10), 2428–2444.
28.
AshourA. F., El-RefaieS. A., GarrityS. W., Flexural Strengthening of RC Continuous Beams using CFRP Laminates, Cement and Concrete Composites, 2004; 26(7) 765–775.
29.
El-GhandourA. A., Experimental and Analytical Investigation of CFRP Flexural and Shear Strengthening Efficiencies of RC Beams, Engineering Failure Analyses, 2011; 25(3), 1419–1429.
30.
AprileA., FeoL., Concrete Cover Rip-off of R/C Beams Strengthened with FRP Composites, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2007; 38(5–6), 759–771.
31.
NorrisT., SaadatmaneshH., EhsaniM. R., Shear and Flexural Strengthening of R/C Beams with Carbon Fiber Sheets, Journal of Structural Engineering-ASCE, 1997; 123(July-1997), 903–911.
32.
SaadatmaneshH., EhsaniM. R., Fiber Composite Plates can Strengthen Beams, American Concrete Institute, Concrete International, Design and Construction, 1990; 12(3), 65–71.
33.
HashemiS., Al-MahaidivR., Experimental and Finite Element Analysis of Flexural Behavior of FRP-Strengthened RC Beams using Cement-based Adhesives, Construction and Building Materials, 2012; 26(1), 268–273.
34.
BencardinoF., SpadeaG., SwamyR. N., The Problem of Shear in RC Beams Strengthened with CFRP Laminates, Construction and Building Materials, 2007; 21(11), 1997–2006.
35.
Al-ZaidR. Z., Al-NegheimishA. I., Al-SaawaniM. A., El-SayedA. K., Analytical Study on RC Beams Strengthened for Flexure with Externally Bonded FRP Reinforcement, Composites Part B-Engineering, 2012; 43(2), 129–141.
36.
KimG., SimJ., OhH., Shear Strength of Strengthened RC Beams with FRPs in Shear, Construction and Building Materials, 2008; 22(6), 1261–1270.
37.
ChenJ. F., TengJ. G., Shear Capacity of FRP-Strengthened RC Beams: FRP Debonding, Construction and Building Materials, 2003; 17(1) 27–41.
38.
WenweiW., GuoL., Experimental Study and Analysis of RC Beams Strengthened with CFRP Laminates under Sustaining Load, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 2006; 43(6), 1372–1387.
39.
FRP-Analysis Program, A Software for the Design with Sika CarboDur Composite Strengthening Systems to Increase the Flexural, Shear and Confinement Strength of Reinforced Concrete Structures, Based on the fib Bulletin 14, version 1.0, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, Greece, (2008).
