A review on shear strengthening of concrete beams with FRP composites

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been widely applied in rehabilitating structures due to its advantages over conventional materials. Although the flexural failure was the typical limiting factor in the structural design, the shear failure may also dominate in cases where the transverse reinforcement has severely corroded or the flexural strength has been increased due to strengthening. In such cases, the shear capacity should be enhanced to avoid catastrophic failures. In this review, the representative existing analytical models of FRP strengthened shear capacity were classified and summarized. And then the influence of design parameters on the shear capacity of the strengthened RC beams was discussed, such as the FRP reinforcement configurations include the selection of surfaces to be bonded (side bonding, U-wrap, complete wrap), continuous reinforcement or a series of discrete strips, and orientation of the primary direction of fibers. An in-depth explanation on FRP composites strengthening schemes, fatigue and durability issues were also noted as major issues to be addressed further.