Optimum Design of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer for Increasing Shear Capacity of Beams

For reinforced concrete (RC) structures, retrofit of structures are needed to be done for several situations. These situations include the renovation of structure by adding new components (floors or extension) and elimination of safety risks (resulting from unforeseen effects - forces and durability). Most retrofit methods for RC structures need destruction of existing members and hard work on increasing of existing section dimension and reinforcements. Whereas, using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips is an easy option to increase the flexural moment or shear capacity of RC members without destruction. In that case, the use of the structure is provided during the application. In this chapter, the optimum design of CFRP strips is presented for increasing the insufficient shear capacity of RC beams. The design constraints are provided according to ACI-318: Building code requirements for structural concrete and ACI-440: Guide for the Design and Construction of Externally Bonded FRP Systems for Strengthening Concrete Structure.