Strengthening of RC members with near-surface mounted CFRP rods

The aim of the experimental programme developed in this work was to investigate the possibility of using Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) rods to strengthen concrete structural members with the near-surface mounted reinforcement (NSM) technique. The global behaviour of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by NSM and subjected to flexure was investigated. The rods were 6 and 12-mm-diameter carbon-epoxy pultruded FRP. Two vibrated concrete compositions were tested: conventional (VC30) and high-strength (VC60), and two filling materials: resin and mortar. The study was carried out up to the failure load. A comparison was made between the experimental results and the existing analytical models. The experimental results indicate that strengthening concrete structural members with the near-surface mounted reinforcement (NSM) gives satisfactory results. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.