Investigations on mechanically fastened FRP-strengthened concrete slabs

ABSTRACT

This investigation studies the feasibility of using the mechanically fastened (MF) FRP system for strengthening two-way concrete slabs in flexure. The slabs are simply supported on all four sides and measure 2600 x 2600 x 120 mm. Different strengthening patterns are used with different spacings between fasteners. Also, the conventional bonded strengthening tech-nique is used for the sake of comparison. The mechanically fastened system is found to be a valid alternative to the bonded system resulting in a rapid, economic, and effective system. The gained increase in the ultimate capacities of MF FRP-strengthened slabs range between 30 to 70% over that of the unstrengthened specimen. In addition, finite element models are presented for MF FRP-strengthened concrete slabs. The numerical predictions are compared with experi-mental data, and very good agreement is obtained

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