Retrofit of RC shear walls with fiber-reinforced polymer wraps

Abstract

Existing shear walls designed based on past codes are susceptible to brittle shear failures. To supress such failures, it is now common to use fibre-reinforced polymers which are wrapped around the section. These materials have high strength and serve as external stirrups. However, because their stiffness, ductility and bond characteristics are very different than those of conventional steel reinforcement, there is a need for rational mechanical models that account for the compatibility of deformations between the existing member and the FRP wraps.

This thesis will rely on an existing model for reinforced concrete members implemented in a Matlab code, and will extend this model to members strengthened with FRP wraps. The extended model will be validated with experimental results from the literature.