Today,
there are many different repair and
strengthening methods that might be used to
upgrade a
concrete structure.
One such method involves CFRP (Carbon Fibre
Reinforced Polymer) bonding. This method has proven to be usable for many
different types of retrofitting applications. Even so, there are some
disadvantages while using epoxy resins as a bonding agent, i.e. diffusion
closeness, thermal compatibility, working environment and the minimum temperature
of assemble. It is therefore of interest to replace the epoxy adhesive with a
mineral based bonding agent, e.g. polymer modified mortars with similar
properties as the base
concrete that also is more working environmental
friendly. A combination between the polymer modified mortar and fibre
reinforced polymers (FRP) can be used for repair and
strengthening of civil
structures. This paper presents a pilot study of RC beams strengthened in shear
with mineral based bonding agents and CFRP grids. The project is a
collaboration project among Luleå University of Technology, Norut Teknologi AS
and Denmark Technical University and is also a part of the European funded
project “Sustainable Bridges”. The results so far show that comparable
strengthening results as for epoxy bonded systems can be achieved with MBC
strengthening systems. The strengthening effect of the beams was 40 – 100 %
compared to the unstrengthened reference beam. The theoretical model describes
the load carrying capacity fairly