Provision of openings in serviceable reinforced concrete beams may result in a substantial decline in the beams' capacity and integrity; pointing out the necessity of opening strengthening. The present study investigates the response of reinforced
concrete T-beams with strengthened openings disposed in shear span. The experimental program consisted of four large-scale beam specimens. An opening in the web of 100-mm x 300-mm was centrally disposed in the shear span. The strengthening of the openings was achieved using mild steel strips of 3.0-mm thick or uni-directional CFRP fabrics. All specimens were tested as simple beams subjected to two-points loading with a shear span to effective depth ratio of 1.7. The load was incrementally applied following a specified displacement history. Test results indicated' that the strengthening of openings may offset the anticipated decline in the beam capacity and stiffness due to the openings. The extent of offset is dependent on the strengthening scheme adopted. The gain in shear capacity of the test beams ranged from 48% to 100%. In addition, a non-linear finite element analysis; NLFEA was carried out to investigate the ultimate behavior of the beam specimens. The application of NLFEA for the strength prediction of the test beams yielded adequate
results. |
