TEXTILE REINFORCED MORTAR BASED FLEXURAL STRENGTHENING OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS
Strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is often necessary due to the change of using or to enhance the strength of deteriorated existing RC structures attributed to aging and environmental effects. Interfacial bond between the existing RC member and the strengthening layer is known to be the main factor for any successful strengthening technique. This study investigates the efficiency of utilizing high strength cementitious connectors in preventing the debonding of textile reinforced mortar (TRM) strengthening layer from substrate concrete of RC beams. An experimental program is developed to investigate the effect of strength of mortars and the distribution of cementitious connectors on the behavior of the strengthened beams. TRM comprising eight and sixteen textile basalt fiber layers were utilized in these experiments. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of cementitious connectors on the failure mode of strengthened beams by means of controlling the debonding of TRM. The increase in cracking and ultimate loads is demonstrated due to the strengthening of RC beams using TRM.