Reinforced Concrete Beams Enhancing Flexural Capacity Via Hybrid FRP Strengthening: Experimental Numerical Investigation
Published 2025-11-10
Keywords
- Flexural strength, RC beams, Composite materials, HFRP, Flexural strength
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Structural reviews and inspections can identify weaknesses in existing buildings, especially in older structures that may necessitate appropriate retrofitting or restoration. More, FRP composites are widely utilized owing to their superior reinforcing capabilities in restoration projects. This study investigates the use of hybrid FRP (HFRP), aramid FRP (AFRP), and glass FRP (GFRP) laminates and sheets to enhance the flexural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams through a combination of experimental & numerical investigations. Five RC beams with a reinforcement ratio of 0.47% were cast and tested under four-point bending, with one beam serving as the control specimen and the remaining four strengthened using HFRP laminates of different thicknesses. The results show that HFRP strengthening substantially enhances the load-carrying capacity; however, increasing laminate thickness beyond an optimum level is not recommended. Epoxy bonding and concrete surface condition substantially affect flexural performance. The beam strengthened with HFRP3 (SH3) exhibited an ultimate load increase of 202.63%. Finite element analysis was also conducted, and the numerical results demonstrated close agreement with the experimental findings, confirming the reliability of the modeling approach.