Investigation of Fire Performance of Concrete Beams Strengthened with FRCM

Reinforced concrete (RC) is widely used due to its ease of construction, accessibility of raw materials, and excellent integrity. However, severe breakdown of RC structures due to mechanical and environmental loads may result in the need for strengthening to increase functionality and extend the service life of such structures. The use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites with external bonding (EB) through epoxy adhesive is a fast, effective, and reliable solution to increase flexural or shear strength. Although epoxy provides an effective bond force between concrete and FRP, there is a major concern about the fire situation that may restrict FRP use in indoor applications. In recent years, fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) strengthening systems have emerged as a viable alternative to FRP sheets for rehabilitating reinforced concrete structures. FRCM systems present almost all of the same benefits as FRP while overcoming the poor fire resistance of FRP. While the fire performance of FRCM strengthening systems is widely viewed as superior to that of FRP composites, very few published works are available in the literature to quantify this performance. These studies have not reached high temperatures that can be experienced during a fire because the actual fire tests were not conducted.

Faculty Supervisor:

Hamzeh Hajiloo

Student:

Partner:

Simpson Strong-Tie Canada Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

Carleton University

Program: