Strengthening of unidirectionally reinforced concrete slabs with composite material Theoretical and experimental study

This paper deals with the flexural strengthening of unidirectionally reinforced concrete slabs by means of thin carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) plates. A simplified laminated plate model has been used to describe the behaviour of a three layered plate in simple (cylindrical) bending in response to three point line loads. The static and kinematic methods of limit analysis were used to approximate the ultimate load capacity for multilayered plates and identify different collapse mechanisms. A unidirectionally reinforced concrete slab strengthened with CFRP was designed as a three layered plate. Experimental results were obtained and compared with theoretical predictions.