Retrofitting of RC beams using FRP techniques: a review

In structural and civil engineering, reinforced concrete structures are susceptible to inordinate loadings such as earthquake disasters, terrorist attacks and accidental impacts. This prompts an increasing desire to strengthen as well as enhance the fatigue performance and extend the ability of fatigue life of reinforced concrete structural components especially beams. Since 2003, Iraq has suffered major damage to the structural buildings, so it has become an important issue to study the existing concrete structures. Among the different techniques of rehabilitation of existing structures, fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) as an external bonding has been considered as a popular one. This paper reviews several features of Reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with FRP. Also this paper aims to impart a comprehensive insight on adhesive curing, surface arrangement, and failure modes of RC beams modified with FRP. This effect of FRP for enhancing the techniques of rehabilitation is a three-fold task, to strengthen and retrofit of concrete structures, to extend the fatigue life of the structural element, and eliminates the crack growth rate.