SPECIAL FIBER REINFORCED CEMENTITIOUS MATRIX (FRCM)

FOR THE SHEAR STRENGTHENING OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS

Ing. M.Calda, Ing. A.Trimboli

PR.AS. Consulting Architects & Engineers
Piazza Augusto Imperatore, 3 - 00186 Roma, Italia
e-mail: calda@pras.it ; trimboli@pras.it

Dott. G.Mantegazza
Direttore Tecnico RUREDIL Spa
Via B.Buozzi, 1 20097 San Donato Milanese (MI), Italia
e-mail: giovanni.mantegazza@ruredil.it

ABSTRACT

During extensive rehabilitation works, in the Executive area inside the Meazza Stadium of Milan, reinforced
concrete structural elements required strengthening.
Several columns and beams, located in the lower ring, were showing zones affected by carbonation, with
exposed reinforcing bars rusted in depth.
The strengthening of the beams included the removal of damaged cortical concrete, the cleaning of contact
surfaces, the placing of additional bottom steel bars, the reshaping of the cross section with tixotropic
structural mortar, and the placing of a carbon fiber mesh, embedded in a fiber reinforced cementitious
matrix (FRCM), in addition to the existing steel stirrups.
The choice of the carbon fiber mesh, to increase the shear strength of the beams, was suggested among
others, by the short time available and by the desire to avoid borings and anchorings of additional stirrups
inside the beams.
The selected system allows to increase the shear strength inside the beams, without modifying the failure
mode of the strengthened element. To this purpose, the carbon fiber mesh has been dimensioned in order
to ensure the two conditions that the entire ultimate shear strength (given by the separate contributions due
to concrete, existing stirrups and carbon fiber mesh) was higher than the ultimate action, and, at the same
time, that the contribution of the carbon mesh was smaller than the contribution of the alone concrete.
A special cementitious matrix was used to bond the carbon fiber mesh to the concrete original section. This
material gives assurance about the interface behaviour of two different materials (normally, concrete and
epoxy resins), with the relevant risks of fragility, peeling, failure of the weaker part. Furthermore it does not
alter the hygroscopic status of the reinforced element, thanks to the same cementitious origin of base and
support materials.
This technology has allowed the shear retrofitting without structural demolitions and without additional
inertial masses.
A series of laboratory test has been carried out in order to crosscheck the findings of the theoretical calculus.

1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURAL PROBLEM

The bearing structure of the lower ring of the Stadium G. Meazza in Milan was carried out in the biennium
1925-1926. It is a reinforced concrete frame structure with isolated footings.
During the summer 2002 the area of the Red Stand has been interested by renovation works, in order to
create the Executive Area. The new structures are in steel structural work and remain disconnected from the
existing reinforced concrete structures; a new foundation system transfers the new loads to the soil.
On the occasion of these works it has been possible to survey the state of preservation of the reinforced
concrete bearing elements.
The surveys on the existing structures have shown a general condition of decay of the constituent materials.
Although the new elements are not interfering with the existing structures, the serious decay of the
materials has suggested to investigate the level of stress in the existing elements with respect to the current
rules and to precautionary criteria.
Subsequently the Client has requested the designers to strengthen the existing reinforced concrete
elements.

2.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

The actual time available to execute the works was very short.
To increase the flexural and shear strength of the beams several strengthening solutions were taken into
consideration, among others:
-

lateral metal plating with plates or profiles

insertion of new stirrups, with borings and increase of the section

addition of bottom steel bars

flexural strengthening with carbon fabrics

shear strengthening with carbon fabrics or meshes bonded by resins or mortars

The following criteria have been used for the selection of the most adequate system:
-

the rapidity of carrying out

the limited interference

the low ratio costs/performances

The selected solution for the beams has involved:

-

the removal of damaged parts by hydraulic jetting at low pressure

the cleaning of contact surfaces and the steel bars painting with anticorrosive

the placing of additional bottom steel bars

the reshaping of the cross section with tixotropic fiber reinforced structural mortar

the placing of a carbon fiber mesh, embedded in a fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (Fiber
Reinforced Cementitious Matrix FRCM), in addition to the existing steel stirrups

The shear strengthening of R.C. beams with carbon fiber mesh is an innovative technique introduced in the
90s, following the growing production of high performances structural adhesives.

The traditional techniques for the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete elements involve, instead, the
fixation of steel plates to the faces of the beams, or the insertion of new stirrups.
Both solutions are effective techniques to obtain the shear strengthening, but, for different reasons, involve
operations that, in particular cases, may require substantial demolitions.
The steel plating is carried out with structural adhesives, usually epoxy resins, and it needs the perfect
flatness of the contact surfaces, to guarantee the transfer of the forces between reinforced concrete element
and steel profile. The plating, moreover, does not allow the perspiration of the inner reinforced concrete
core.
The inserting of stirrups needs borings in the reinforced concrete element and, therefore, is not advisable if
the existing concrete is of poor quality.
The strengthening system adopted in this case, involves the use of a carbon fiber mesh, bonded to the
element to strengthen with a cementitious matrix. This technique turned out to be very profitable, because it
required to operate exclusively on the outside faces of the beams. Moreover, the use of a pozzolanic
cementitiuous matrix guarantees the full mechanical, physical and chemical compatibility between the new
reinforcement and the reinforced concrete element.
In this particular case the choice of the strengthening system has been dictated by the rapidity of site
operations. To this purpose, the special bonding matrix has allowed to lay the carbon mesh, on the surfaces
of the beam reshaped with fiber tixotropic cementitious mortar, without waiting for the cure of the tixotropic
mortar; if the bonding matrix was polymeric, which may be laid exclusively on completely dry surfaces, we
would have lost this advantage.

3.

THE DESIGN OF THE CARBON MESH

The use of fiber reinforced polymers has become a rather common technique to strengthen reinforced
concrete elements.
The calculus criteria available in literature verify the two possible failure mechanisms, and that is the failure
of the composite strengthening system based on the stress level of the carbon fiber, or rather, the failure
based on the delamination of the strengthening composite system from the reinforced concrete surface. The
value of the ultimate shear strength of the carbon fiber mesh is the lowest between the two values referred
to the two possible failure mechanisms.
The formulas available in literature to design the composite reinforcement system result from experimental
data related to system with carbon or aramid fibers in the shape of sheet or mesh, embedded always in a
polymeric matrix.
The shear reinforcement used in this case has been a system composed of a carbon fiber mesh (X MESH
C10 RUREDIL), bonded to the reinforced concrete element with a pozzolanic fiber reinforced cementitious
matrix (X MESH M25 RUREDIL).
The value of the ultimate design shear strength of the strengthened sections has been computed as sum of
the individual contributions related to the concrete, to the steel stirrups, and to the carbon fiber mesh.
The increase of the shear strength has been obtained placing, in the zones near the supports of the
reinforced concrete beams, a U-shaped mesh embedded in a layer of cementitious mortar.

4.

THE LABORATORY TESTS

The particular system adopted involve the use of a carbon fiber mesh and a fiber reinforced cementitiuos
mortar bonding matrix.
To validate the analytic formulas of the literature a series of tests has carried out at the laboratories of the
University of Architecture of Venice.
The shear failure tests applied the load symmetrically at two points 10 cm off the supports, and spaced 20
cm. The tests have been carried out on a specimen without mesh and on three specimens reinforced with
carbon fiber mesh embedded in a layer of fiber reinforced cementitious mortar.
The specimens had section 15x15 cm and were provided of two bottom steel bars. The mechanical
properties of the materials were fck 20 MPa for the concrete and type 500 (fy = 500 MPa) for the steel bars.
The tests have been carried out in displacement control (0,25 mm/minuto).
The failure of the specimen without mesh followed the failure of the concrete strut at a load of about 146
kN. The failure of the strengthened specimens has involved simultaneously the failure of the concrete strut
and the debonding of the carbon mesh along the strut, and the average load has been 171 kN.
The increase of shear strength resulted to be around 17%. This value is limited, but is related to the
quantity of fiber reinforcement applied. The analytical calculus would have predicted an increase of the 10%.
The failure of the strengthened specimens followed the delamination of the reinforcement from the concrete
core, in particular the failure has come for values of the tangential stress (along the interface between
reinforcement and concrete core) close to the ultimate adhesion stress of the concrete.
The tests showed a considerable increase of ductility of the specimens.
5. CONCLUSIONS

The use of composite materials to increase the shear strength in reinforced concrete beams has been in this
case very useful for some reasons:
-

the rapidity of the site operations

the application of the reinforcement without borings

the full mechanical, physical and chemical compatibility of the reinforcement with the reinforced
concrete elements

Some of these advantages are linked thanks to the use of a cementitious bonding matrix, that has allowed
to reduce significantly the time of execution, also with respect to the use of a traditional polymeric matrix.
Furthermore, the use of a cementitiuos matrix has allowed to obtain a high compatibility of the
strengthening system with the concrete.

Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the staff of the laboratory of the IUAV in Venice, for the skilled assistance during the experimental tests.

References
[1] ACI 440.2R-02, Guide for the Design and Construction of Externally Bonded FRP Systems for
Strengthening Concrete Structures, 2002
[2] Fib-bullettin 14, Externally bonded FRP reinforcement for RC structures, 2001
[3] A.Khalifa, W.J.Gold, A.Nanni, A.Aziz, Contribution of Externally Bonded FRP to Shear Capacity of Flexural
Members, ASCE-Journal of Composites for Construction, Vol. 2, N4, Nov. 1998, pp. 195-203
[4] P.G. Malerba, Analisi limite e non lineare di strutture in calcestruzzo armato, Ed. CISM, 1998
[5] E. Morsch, Teoria e pratica del cemento armato, Ed. Hoepli, 1910.

Fiber
Unit weight [KN m-3]

Carbon
18,0

Thickness [mm]

0,047

Ult imate tension strength [MPa]

3.400

Elastic tension modulus [MPa]

227.000

Tab. 1: Mechanical characteristics of the carbon fiber mesh.

Mortar
Unit weight [KN m-3]
Ultimate compression strength [MPa]
Elastic tension modulus [MPa]

Pozzolanic
17,5
38
15.000

Tab. 2: Mechanical characteristics of the bonding matrix.

Fig.1 Loading scheme.

Fig.2 Failure of compressed strut in the unstrengthened specimen.

Fig.3 Failure of compressed strut in the strengthened specimen .

Fig.4 Diagram load-displacement of the unstrengthened specimen.

Fig.5 Diagram load-displacement of the strengthened specimen.

Fig.6 Placement of the carbon fiber mesh.

(minimo)

Ripristino della sezione con malta

ad alta resistenza tipo
"RUREDIL EXOCEM FP"
o equivalente, con superficie
rasata e smussi a misura

Gradone

Doppia stesura di malta

idraulica, pozzolanica
tipo "RUREDIL X MESH
M 25" o equivalente

Tessuto di fibra di carbonio

tipo RUREDIL X MESH C 10
o equivalente

Armatura esistente

(minimo)

Smusso 1x1 cm

6 mm (fuori scala)

Armatura aggiuntiva 4 16

Fig.7 Cross section of the strengthened beam.

Fig.8 Site process.

Fig.9 Detail of the state of the structure before the strengthening intervention.

Fig.10 Laying of the carbon fiber mesh on a first layer of cementitious mortar.

Fig.11 Laying of the second layer of cementitious mortar.