Strengthening of concrete damaged by mechanical loading and elevated temperature

Despite being one of the most abundantly used construction materials because of its exceptional properties, concrete is susceptible to deterioration and damage due to various factors particularly corrosion, improper loading, poor workmanship and design discrepancies, and as a result concrete structures require retrofitting and strengthening. In recent times, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites have substituted the conventional techniques of retrofitting and strengthening of damaged concrete. Most of the research studies related to concrete strengthening using FRP have been performed on undamaged test specimens. This contribution presents the results of an experimental study in which concrete specimens were damaged by mechanical loading and elevated temperature in laboratory prior to application of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets for strengthening. The test specimens prepared using concrete of target compressive strength of 28 MPa at 28 days were subjected to compressive and splitting tensile testing up to failure and the intact pieces of the failed specimens were collected for the purpose of repair. In order to induce damage as a result of elevated temperature, the concrete cylinders were subjected to $400^{\circ}C$ and $800^{\circ}C$ temperature for two hours duration. Concrete cylinders damaged under compressive and split tensile loads were re-cast using concrete and rich cement-sand mortar, respectively and then strengthened using CFRP wrap. Concrete cylinders damaged due to elevated temperature were also strengthened using CFRP wrap. Re-cast and strengthened concrete cylinders were tested in compression and splitting tension. The obtained results revealed that re-casting of specimens damaged by mechanical loadings using concrete & mortar, and then strengthened by single layer CFRP wrap exhibited strength even higher than their original values. In case of specimens damaged by elevated temperature, the results indicated that concrete strength is significantly dropped and strengthening using CFRP wrap made it possible to not only recover the lost strength but also resulted in concrete strength greater than the original value.