Seismic performance parameters of RC beams retrofitted by CARDIFRC®

A new high performance fibre-reinforced cementitious composite material (designated CARDIFRC®), to be used for retrofitting concrete members, has been developed at Cardiff University. The material is compatible with concrete and possesses favourable strength and ductility properties desirable for seismic retrofit. It overcomes some of the problems associated with the current techniques based on externally bonded steel plates and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates caused mainly by the mismatch of their tensile strength and stiffness with that of the concrete member being retrofitted. aper reports on the results of three-point and four-point flexure tests conducted on a number of non-ductile and ductile small scale RC beams retrofitted with externally bonded CARDIFRC® strips. A number of different strip configurations and two strip thicknesses are investigated and their effect on the retrofitting process examined. Some strength and seismic performance parameters including toughness and ductility are evaluated for each retrofitted beam and compared with those of the corresponding control beams. It is shown that precast CARDIFRC® strips, adhesively bonded to the surface of the RC beam can greatly increase the strength and ductility of the retrofitted beam; hence, they can be used successfully to enhance the seismic performance of both damaged and undamaged RC beams.