Reinforced Concrete Corbel Strengthened Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Sheets

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses the procedures adopted for repairing and strengthening a damaged reinforced concrete corbel of an industrial biomass boiler. The reinforced concrete corbel was subjected to concrete spalling, favoring the risk of the main tie reinforcement slip in the anchorage zone. The proposed solution involved a local repair with a polymeric mortar and subsequent strengthening using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets, attending the requirements imposed by the in site conditions and the design plans. The intervention allowed the confinement of the concrete zone subjected to spalling and provided additional safety for the main tie reinforcement of the corbel. The applied technique was demonstrated to be fast, reliable, practical, and cheaper than other available solutions, such as section enlargements with concrete jacketing.

Keywords

• reinforced concrete
• corbel
• strengthening and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)