article · Case Studies in Construction Materials
Structural strengthening of defected reinforced concrete beams can be achieved by installing sustainable aluminium boxes filled with high performance concretes. Experimental testing of eleven beam configurations evaluated different filling materials, box quantities, and inclination angles, including the addition of glass fibre reinforced polymer bars inside ultra-high-performance concrete. The retrofitting system successfully restores and improves load-deflection behaviour, stiffness, cracking load, energy absorption, and ultimate shear capacity. While a forty-five degree inclination using strain-hardening cementitious composites provides partial recovery, the most effective arrangement uses sixty-degree inclined boxes filled with ultra-high-performance concrete and embedded polymer bars. This setup matches or exceeds the capacity of an undamaged control beam. Validated finite element models and a proposed theoretical formula reliably predict total shear capacity, providing analytical tools to support structural design calculations.
Concrete infrastructure frequently experiences structural defects or shear degradation over time, requiring effective and sustainable repair methods. Demonstrating that lightweight aluminium casings combined with advanced cementitious mixtures can restore compromised beams to full working capacity offers a practical alternative to complete replacement. This approach helps extend the operating life of critical civil assets while avoiding disruptive rebuilding works.
This method offers a structural remediation technique for civil engineering contractors, asset managers, and structural design consultants seeking to repair damaged concrete bridges or buildings. Because testing remains at the laboratory scale alongside finite element modelling and theoretical validation, the technology is applied and tested rather than market-ready. Further real-world piloting and formal standardisation are required before commercial adoption in active infrastructure projects.
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This paper presents an experimental investigation of the shear improvement of defected reinforced concrete (RC) beams using sustainable aluminum boxes filled with high performance concretes (HPCs). The study compares the performance of eleven RC beams with different configurations of aluminum boxes, filling materials, and inclination angles. Additionally, it examines the effect of reinforcing the ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) used to fill these boxes with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. The results show that the proposed technique can effectively restore and enhance the load-deflection behavior, ultimate capacity, stiffness, and energy absorption of the beams. Inclining aluminum boxes within beams at a 45-degree angle and filling them with strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCCs) partially restores performance. A beam with three boxes showed significant improvements over the defected beam, achieving 65 % higher stiffness, 44 % higher cracking load, and 33 % higher ultimate load. The optimal configuration was found to be 60-degree inclined aluminum boxes filled with UHPC and embedded GFRP bars. This configuration achieved a near-identical performance to the non-defected control beam and surpassed it in some respects. Furthermore, a two-pronged approach was employed. Firstly, finite element models (FEMs) were developed and carefully validated against experimental results. These validated models then became the foundation for a parametric study, allowing researchers to investigate the influence of various parameters on the beam's performance. The parametric study indicates that with a fixed thickness of the aluminum boxes used, beams strengthened with boxes filled with UHPC have higher shear capacity compared to those strengthened with boxes filled with SHCC. Secondly, a theoretical formula was proposed to predict the total shear capacity of the strengthened beams. This formula exhibited excellent agreement with both the experimental data and the finite element (FE) results, solidifying its potential as a practical tool for engineers in design and analysis.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.cscm.2024.e03500
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