Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Experimental investigation on strengthening of reinforced concrete

beams using GFRP laminates
G. Miruthun, D. Vivek, P.R. Remya, K.S. Elango, R. Saravanakumar, S. Venkatraman
Department of Civil Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of this paper is to study the strengthening and stiffness of concrete while using FRP lami-
Received 16 July 2020 nates. Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) which are taken in form of sheets and are wrapped by three
Accepted 20 August 2020 methods and find out its strengthening properties. The grade of concrete of beam which is going to be
Available online xxxx
used is M25. The beam is going to be undergoing flexural strength test. Again, the same ruptured beam
is going to be laminated with GFRP sheets by intermittent spacing, cross over and inclined way. Then the
Keywords: beam is again subjected to test. Then the test results are compared between various types.
Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Intermittent spacing
Cross over
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
Inclined way ence on Newer Trends and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering: Materials Science.
Flexural strength

1. Introduction sheets. After investigation of orientation on ultimate load carrying

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) mainly used for external
strengthening of structural member, which are widely used in
construction. These methods greatly strengthen the structural
member than conventional concrete member. Various studies
have been done based on FRP in recent days [1]. Beams were
strengthened with GFRP of chopped strand mat, woven roving,
and uni-directional cloth of thickness 3 mm and 5 mm. The beam
specimens were subjected to four-point bending test. The result
shows that the reinforced concrete beam with GFRP increases
the strength, deformed capacity, ductility and composite action
until failure than conventional reinforced concrete beam [2].
Another study has been done in reinforced concrete beams with
GFRP laminates. Strengthening done by using four types of lami-
nates such as 4-layerd symmetric cross-ply(SCP), symmetric
angle-ply (SAP), anti-symmetric cross-ply (ASCP), and anti-
symmetric angle-ply (ASAP) laminates. From test the symmetrical
cross-ply laminates shows better laminates for strengthening
strength, stiffness, flexural capacity and ductility [3]. Researchers
have been conducted nonlinear Finite Element analysis (FEA) on
reinforced high strength concrete beams with GFRP. Three dimen-
sioned finite element model has been developed for FRP compos-
ites and compare with test result. The FEA shows appreciable
agreement with the test result [4,5]. Conventional RC beams
strengthened with different amount and configuration of GFRP
capacity and failure mode of beams, the beams with rectangular
corrugated GFRP laminates achieved higher load carrying capacity
and flexural strength [6]. The ultimate strength of structures can
increase by using FRP externally bonding with epoxy resin. The
side bonded GFRP increases more load carrying capacity than
GFRP to concrete surface. From normal beam, the strengthened
beam gives sufficient warning before failure [7]. The flexural
behaviors of RC beams have been investigated by wrapping of
GFRP sheets. After flexural test the beam with full bottom GFRP
sheet wrapping in 70 percentage preloaded beam can increase
flexural capacity of the beam by 14 percentages on ultimate load
when compared to conventional RC Beam [8,9]. The RC beams can
strengthen with internal steel fibers and external GFRP. Due to
this internal and external fiber increases the flexural strength,
ductility of the RC beam [10]. Other studies were also carried
out in FRP. This is a non-corrosive, high strength, light weight
material and increases durability. It has more applications in Civil
Engineering structures including externally bonded FRP plates,
sheets etc. From all these studies concluded that the use of FRP
increases the strength of RC members. In this paper studied the
use of GFRP strengthened the RC beams. The RC beams strength-
ened with GFRP sheets by three methods such as intermittent
spacing, cross over and inclined way and find out the flexural
behavior of strengthened beams and compare this behavior with
conventional reinforced concrete beams.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.544
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Newer Trends and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering:
Materials Science.

Please cite this article as: G. Miruthun, D. Vivek, P. R. Remya et al., Experimental investigation on strengthening of reinforced concrete beams using GFRP
laminates, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.544
G. Miruthun et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

2. Materials used Table 2

Mechanical properties of E-glass fibre.

2.1. Glass fibre reinforced Polymer (GFRP) S. No Mechanical properties Values

1 Tensile strength MPa 3450
GFRP commonly used reinforcing fibre. For better adhesion 2 Young’s modulus GPa 72.4
between the composite constituents the fibre surfaces coated with 3 Ultimate tensile strain % 2.4
4 Thermal Expansion Co-efficient 10-6
/C 5
matrix. The widely used glass fibres are made of E – glass, S – glass
5 Poisson’s co-efficient 0.22
and alkali – resistant glass. E – glass fibres are commonly used 6 Compressive strength MPa 5000 Max
because of its least expensive. In this study E – glass fibre are used 7 Hardness MPa 6000 Max
E – glass is a low alkali borosilicate glass with 10–30 diameter. The 8 Shear modulus GPa 36
physical, mechanical and chemical properties of E – glass fibre as
per ISO 10406-(1,2) shown in Tables 1-3 respectively.
Table 3
Chemical properties of E-glass fiber.
2.2. Epoxy Resin (ER)
S. No Chemical composition Concentration%
ER used as a base polymer matrix because it shows very high 1 SiO2 54
mechanical properties. The physical and mechanical properties as 2 Al2O3 15
per IS: 9197–1979(Reaffirmed 2001) of ER have been displayed 3 CaO 12
in Table 4 and Table 5 respectively.

2.3. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) Table 4

Physical properties of Epoxy Resin.

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 53 grade conforming to IS S. No Physical properties Value

12269–2013. The physical properties as per IS 4031–1988 (Reaf- 1 Density Kg/m 3
1200–1400
firmed 2014) given in Table 6. 2 Moisture content % 0.08–0.15
3 Volume fraction % 66.67

3. Experimental investigation
Table 5
Totally 9 number of beams were casted. The characteristics Mechanical properties of Epoxy Resin.
strength of concrete was taken by 25 MPa.As per IS 10262–2019,
S. No Mechanical properties Value
the concrete mix proportion has been taken as 1:1.43:2.18.
1 Tensile strength MPa 55–130
2 Longitudinal modulus GPa 2.75–4.10
3.1. Casting of beam 3 Poisson’s ratio 0.38–0.40
4 Thermal expansion coefficient 45–65
The design of RC rectangular beam based on IS 456–2000 at
under reinforced condition. The RC rectangular beam having the
cross section of 150mmx250mm and length of 3000 mm were Table 6
casted. The main longitudinal reinforcements used were two num- Physical properties of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
bers of HYSD bars Fe 415 of 12 mm diameter and top bar of 10 mm Sl. No Tests conducted Experimental results
diameter. The stirrups were made from Fe 250 mild steel bars of
1. Specific gravity 3.10
8 mm diameter provided at a spacing of 120 mm c/c. The top and 2. Fineness of cement by sieving 3.0%
bottom and side cover were taken as 30 mm. The detailing of RC 3. Consistency 30%
rectangular beam given in Fig. 1. The RC beam designated as RCb. 4. Setting time
Initial 70 min
Final 280 min
3.2. Experimental setup 5. Soundness 4 mm
6. Compressive strength7 days28 days 35.20 MPa53.50 MPa
After 28 days of curing the RCb specimen kept for finding flex-
ural behavior on loading frame for loading. All the RCb were tested
under two-point bending in a loading frame of 1000kN capacity.
Total span of beam was 2000 mm kept 100 mm for end bearing noted ultimate load and load at first crack. A crack detection micro-
at the two ends hence the effective span was 1800 mm. The dial scope measured the crack width. Then the test procedure repeated
gauge of Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) was used for strengthened RC beams with GFRP.
for recording the deflection of the beams placed just below the
center of beam to measure deflections. Then the beam subjected
to loading at the rate of 5kN incremental loading up to the failure 3.3. Preparation of strengthened RC beam with GFRP
of beam. The deflections were measured at the center and also
After flexural test of RC beam the cracked RCb then strength-
ened with GFRP by three methods of wrapping such as intermitted
Table 1 spacing, cross over, inclined way. These strengthened beams desig-
Physical properties of E-glass fibre.
nated as RCint, RCcro, RCinc respectively. The epoxy resin in the
S. No Physical properties Values ratio of 2:1 of hardener: Resin by weight was applied the surface
1 Diameter mm 10–30 of the cracked RC beam as well as on the surface of GFRP laminates
2 Density Kg/m3 2600 Max and wrapped correctly. Should be assured the strong bonding
3 Volume Fraction % 33.33 between beam and GFRP laminates. After 2 days the strengthened
Bulk modulus GPa 50 Max
beam dried and ready for testing.
2
G. Miruthun et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1. Detailing of RC rectangular beam.

Table 7
Load vs. Deflection.

S. No Load (KN) Deflection (mm) S. No Load (KN) Deflection (mm)

RCb RCint RCcro RCinc RCb RCint RCcro RCinc
1 5 0 0 0 0 12 60 5.9 6.2 6.71 7.89
2 10 0.3 0.4 0.6 1.2 13 65 6.7 7.8 8.65 10.56
3 15 0.5 0.6 0.82 1.8 14 70 7.6 8.95 9.78 12.48
4 20 0.8 0.75 1.2 2.1 15 75 8.7 9.3 10.2 14.2
5 25 1.3 0.82 1.8 2.4 16 80 10.5 11.7 12.5 16.8
6 30 1.6 1.2 1.92 2.8 17 85 10.8 12.5 14.56 18.0
7 35 2.2 1.28 2.2 3.4 18 90 11.8 14.4 16.8 18.78
8 40 2.8 1.8 2.46 3.92 19 95 14.2 16.6 18.0 20.42
9 45 3.4 2.4 2.8 4.8 20 100 15.5 18.8 20.4 21.8
10 50 3.6 3.2 3.8 5.23 21 105 16.6 19.8 21.8 22.4
11 55 3.82 4.8 5.2 6.78 22 110 18.4 20.2 22.4 24.6

Table 8
Experimental observations of specimen.

S. Specimen Load at first crack Deflection –first crack Yield load Deflection at yield load Ultimate load Final deflection
No detail (KN) (mm) (KN) (mm) (KN) (mm)
1 RCb 24.5 1.25 45.8 3.42 85.78 11.46
2 RCint 20.63 0.78 34.6 1.24 64.8 7.19
3 RCcro 16.86 1.06 28.4 1.87 54.2 4.38
4 RCinc 14.48 1.48 24.6 2.26 48.6 5.16

4. Result and discussion
Tables 7 and Table 8 displayed the result obtained from flexural
test. From experimental data; load deflection curves for all the
beams were drew and compared strengthened RC beam to RC
beam. The ultimate load of RC beam is at 85.78KN and RC beam
complete failure occurred at 110KN. The ultimate load of strength-
ened beam of RCint, RCcro, and RCinc are reduced at the percent-
age of 24.39%, 36.82% and 43.34% respectively. Hence among
these three strengthened beams RCint shows better strength prop-
erty than other two strengthened beams. As in the case of deflec-
tion the deflection of the RC beam at ultimate load is 11.46 mm.
The rate of deflection of strengthened beams of RCint, RCcro, and
RCinc are increased at the percentage of 10.64%, 28.27% and
65.57% respectively. Hence the intermitted spacing method of
strengthening provided appreciable strength and deflection prop-
erties when compared to reinforced concrete beam. Figs. 2-5
shows the load-deflection curve of strengthened and un-
strengthened RC beams.
The factor ductility mainly focused on the ability of the beam to
withstand the inelastic deformation without losing load carrying
3
capacity before the failure of the beam. The deflection ductility is
defined as the ratio of deflection at ultimate load to the deflection
at yield load. Also the deflection ductility ratio is the ratio of deflec-
tion ductility of strengthened beam to the deflection ductility of RC
beam. The energy ductility ratio is defined as the ratio of the
energy ductility of strengthened RC beam to that of energy ductil-
ity of un-strengthened RC beam. The energy ductility given by the
Eq. (1) and Table 9 shows the ductility values of beam specimens.
Energy ductility ¼ ½1 þ ðET =EE Þ=2 ð1Þ
Where ET = Total energy up to ultimate load
EE = Elastic energy
From Table 9 the beam specimen of RCint shows better ductility
ratio among three strengthened beams when compared to RC
beam. The ductility ratio of RCint both in deflection and energy
are 1.73 and 1.63 respectively. Which is higher than ductility ratio
of RCcro and RCinc. Hence, the strengthened beam with GFRP
increases the ductility property. Fig. 6 shows the graphical repre-
sentation of ductility ratios of strengthened and strengthened
beam.
G. Miruthun et al.
Fig. 2. Load –Deflection Graph of RC beam.
Fig. 3. Load –Deflection Graph of RCint.
5. Conclusion
The experimental studies of strengthened and un-strengthened
has been reached a conclusion such as
 The wrapping of GFRP laminates strengthened the cracked RC
beam very strongly.
 GFRP laminates improved the strength property, load carrying
property, and ductility property of cracked RC beam.
 GFRP laminates wrapped the cracked beam in three methods
such as intermittent spacing, cross over, and inclined way
effectively.
4
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
Fig. 4. Load –Deflection Graph of RCcro beam.
Fig. 5. Load –Deflection Graph of RCinc.
 The intermittent spacing RC beam shows excellent strength
property, ductility property and load carrying property and less
deflection property than other two methods.
 Hence the better way of wrapping of GFRP laminates is inter-
mittent spacing.
 The application of GFRP laminates can be extended in various
structural members of the construction.
G. Miruthun et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 9
Ductility values.

S. No Specimen detail Deflectionductility Deflection ductility ratio Energy ductility Energy ductility ratio
1 RCb 3.35 1.00 3.63 1.00
2 RCint 5.79 1.73 5.93 1.63
3 RCcro 2.34 0.69 2.73 0.75
4 RCinc 2.28 0.68 2.75 0.76

Fig. 6. Ductility ratios of strengthened and strengthened beam.
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Declaration of Competing Interest

Further Reading
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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[1] IS 516-1959(Reaffirmed 2004),’ Methods of tests for strength of concrete’,
Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.
[2] IS 2386-3(1963) (Reaffirmed 2002), ‘Methods of test for aggregates for
concrete’, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.
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cement’, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.
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