Investigation of Retrofitting Reinforced Concrete Structures in Near-Fault Regions

Abstract

Generally, existing reinforced concrete structures are retrofitted to withstand applied loads and to increase the structural ductility using appropriate materials and proper executive guidelines. The use of FRP has gained much attention for its low weight, ease of implementation, and high strength as it involves no architectural restrictions, especially in concrete-made buildings. This research used the finite element method and the ABAQUS software to examine the effects of FRP on stress, strain as well as bending deformation parameters from a nonlinear static analysis of concrete, reinforced concrete, and FRP-reinforced concrete. The maximum stress and strain values on the lower and upper surfaces of the models as well as the maximum values in the middle of each beam span were obtained for three models. The findings suggested that an FRP plate of 1.4 mm thick significantly reduced bending in the middle of the span. On average, the maximum stress caused in the reinforced concrete beam model was found to be 23% lower than that in the non-reinforced concrete beam, indicating the application of reinforcement in the model. However, the average maximum stress caused in the FRP-reinforced concrete beam model was 54% lower than that of the reinforced concrete beams, again indicating a significant efficiency of FRP in retrofitting structures.