Increasing the flexural capacity of RC beams using steel angles and pre-tensioned stainless steel ribbons

This article presents an experimental programme on reinforced concrete beams retrofitted with steel angles and pre-stressed stainless steel ribbons to increase their flexural strength and ductility. Two different configurations of the steel ribbon were designed, and two companion specimens for each type considered were subjected to a four-point bending test to facilitate a direct comparison in the analysis of the effectiveness of the retrofitting technique. The influence of longitudinal steel angles and transverse stainless steel ribbons is analysed, and the concrete confinement due to stainless steel ribbons examined. The strengthened beams show remarkable increments in flexural strength and ductility with respect to the as-built beam. Moreover, a simple cross-sectional model was adopted to calculate the flexural strength; then sophisticated numerical tools were used to reproduce both the experimental load-displacement curve and crack pattern for each specimen.