Study on flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with geopolymer adhesive bonded CFRP

PurposeIn this paper, the effects of geopolymer adhesive, the number of CFRP layers and the width of pre-crack on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP were studied, and the flexural capacity of strengthened beams was calculated theoretically.Design/methodology/approachReinforced concrete beams were strengthened with CFRP by geopolymer adhesive, and flexural load tests were conducted to observe the reinforcement effect. Based on the method of calculating the flexural capacity of reinforced concrete beams, a theoretical calculation model on the flexural capacity of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with geopolymer adhesive bonded CFRP was established.FindingsThe test data shown the flexural capacity of epoxy resin adhesive CFRP strengthened reinforced concrete beams is 7.76% higher than that geopolymer adhesive is used. The flexural capacity of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with three layers of CFRP is 1.86% higher than that two layers are adopted. The mean ratio of the test data and the calculation results of the flexural capacity is 0.973, and the mean square error is 0.008. It can be seen that the test data are in good agreement with the theoretical value.Originality/valueThis paper provides data support for the popularization and application of the new environment-friendly reinforcement technology, contributes to the cause of environmental protection, and provides a new method for strengthening reinforced concrete beams.