Experimental Investigation on Strengthening the Flexural Behavior of RC Beams Using BTRC and BRRC

To study the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by basalt rebar reinforced concrete (BRRC) and basalt textile reinforced concrete (BTRC), bending tests of five beams were carried out, including one normal beam as the reference, two strengthened with different amount of BRRC, and two strengthened with different amount of BTRC.The effects of BRRC and BTRC layers on the cracking strength, yield strength, ultimate strength, displacement and failure modes of the reinforced concrete beams were comparatively analyzed.The results indicate that the BRRC and BTRC can effectively increase the flexural strength and stiffness and reduce the cracks.In comparison with the beams strengthened by BRRC, the beams strengthened by BTRC have a lower flexural strength, but experience more evenly distributed cracks.The new poured concrete and the basalt textile can work together better in the BTRC strengthened beams.The BTRC strengthened beams also have better ductility and stiffness.