Behavior of full-scale RC T-beams strengthened in shear with externally bonded FRP sheets

Recently many research studies have investigated the shear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. However, most were conducted on small-scale specimens. Thus, analytical models and design equations developed from those studies may not predict the actual behavior of large-scale RC beams strengthened with FRPs. In this study, an experimental study was performed on this topic using full-scale RC T-beams in order to understand the behavior of full-scale bridge beams strengthened in shear with FRP. The main parameters investigated in this study were the transverse steel reinforcement ratio and the effect of mechanical anchorage systems.