Behavior of Damaged Shear-Deficient RC Beams Using ECC Jackets

This study focused on the effect of jacketing (wrapping) damaged shear-deficient reinforced lightweight self-consolidating concrete (LWSCC) beam using U-shaped engineered cementitious composite (ECC) as a jacket to restore the shear strength and moment capacity of a beam. ECC is a category of ductile cement-based composite reinforced with polyvinyl alcohol fibers which exhibits features such as strain hardening, ability to develop multiple cracks, and self-consolidating making them useful for repair works. The shear-deficient core and ECC jacketed beams having constant aspect ratio (shear span to depth, a/d ratio) and longitudinal reinforcement (steel) were loaded to failure under monotonic loading. The load–deflection responses, ultimate load capacities, concrete cracking, steel strain development, and failure modes of the repaired jacketed beam were analyzed and compared with those of core LWSCC beam. The test result for the jacketed beam revealed a considerable increase in load-carrying capacity by 290% and increase in deformation capacity by 58% compared to the original core beams, the energy absorption increased by 684%, there was improvement in ductility index by 23%, and stiffness of the jacketed beam was 2.6 time higher than the core beam. The failure mode changed from shear to flexure when the damaged core beam was jacketed. Hence, a U-shaped ECC jacket can be used to restore the capacity of damaged LWSCC beams.