In
this experimental study, the behavior of shear critical
reinforced concrete columns under constant axial load
and reversed cyclic lateral loads is
investigated. The specimens were constructed using low quality concrete, and
insufficient transverse reinforcement, intentionally for reflecting the
characteristics of relatively older existing buildings. Test results showed that
the brittle shear behavior of the reference
specimen was enhanced in different
extents depending on the GFRP (glass fiber
reinforced polymer) sheet
retrofitting scheme. The retrofitted specimens, while not being able to reach
flexural capacity due to the effects of diagonal compression stresses,
exhibited much better performance with respect to reference specimen both in
terms of strength and deformability.