Behavior of Two-way RC Slabs Combination Strengthened with CFRP Strips and Steel Sheets
A total of four two-way reinforced concrete slabs strengthened with three methods were tested. The four test specimens were one unstrengthened reinforced concrete slab (control), one slab strengthened with CFRP strips, one slab strengthened with steel sheets, and one slab strengthened with an innovative method of applying CFRP strips and steel sheets combination bonding to the tension face of the slab. The test results show the CFRP-Steel combination strengthened technique is a rapid and effective strengthening technique for two-way RC slab. The increase in ultimate capacities of CFRP-Steel combination strengthened slab is 221.1% over the control slab, 84.4% over the CFRP-strengthened slab, and 45.2% over the steel-strengthened slab. In addition, the CFRP-Steel combination strengthened slab exhibited superior ductility than the CFRP-strengthened slab.