Repair technique of pre-cracked reinforced concrete (RC) beams with transverse openings strengthened with steel plate under sustained load

AbstractThis paper presents a repairing technique of the steel plate that effectively strengthen RC members, control both the failure modes and the stress distribution around the beam chords and enhance the serviceability of pre-cracked RC beams with openings. Furthermore, to evaluate the usage of a temporary pre-stressed force that was applied on the RC beam so as to close all of the presence shear cracks before the steel plate application. Two un-strengthened control beams, five beams that were pre-cracked before the application of the steel plate, and one beam that was strengthened without pre-cracking were tested. Cracking was first induced, followed by repair using various strengthening technique, and then the beams were tested to failure. The advantages of the shear strengthening of RC beams that were obtained using this technique are based on the closing of all the existing cracks around the openings via epoxy injection. The results show that both the pre-existing damage level and the steel plate s...