Experimental study on flexural behavior of aramid rods reinforced concrete beam strengthened with externally bonded carbon fiber sheet

Simple-supported concrete beams reinforced with aramid FRP (AFRP) rods and carbon FRP (CFRP) sheets were tested up to failure under a symmetric two-point load application. AFRP rods were used instead of steel reinforcing bars, and CFRP sheets were bonded on the tension face. Moreover, in one specimen, three 5-cm wide strips of CFRP sheeting were wrapped around the web (U-jacket) after the CFRP sheets were bonded. The results showed that; 1) both the ultimate load and deflection of the beam with U-jackets were highly improved, and 2) the calculated deflection and strain correlated well with the measured values before the peeling failure.