Problem
Reinforced concrete beams carry loads from buildings and structures to be transferred to walls and columns. Additional loads due to change of use, extra loads, under-designed beams or damage to the structural beam can cause cracking and excessive deflection. Overloaded beams need to be strengthened to prevent partial collapse or failure.
1. Flexural cracking
Additional loads to a structure can cause flexural cracking to appear as the structure deflects under loading. This leads to flexural cracks opening up in the tension face of reinforced concrete beams and floor slabs. Insufficient steel reinforcement is an issue. These cracks can also allow contaminants to enter the concrete cover zone and initiate reinforcement corrosion.
2. Shear cracking
Additional loads can result in shear cracks forming at restraints around columns and at the end of reinforced concrete beams. These cracks are structural and indicate insufficient shear reinforcement.
Solution
Install externally-bonded reinforcement using plate plate bondeing and sheet wrap techniques to strengthen the reinforced concrete beam and provide additional reinforcement stiffness.
Weber products
Main products
weber.tecforce carbon plate
High-performance carbon fibreplate reinforcement for structuralstrengthening
weber.tecforce carbon sheet
High-performance reinforcementcarbon fibre sheet for structuralstrengthening
Printable version
- Printable version (3.4 M)
