Mechanical Shear Strength Model for Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with FRP Materials

In this paper, a theoretically-based model for the prediction of the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with FRP is presented. The model has been validated with the results available in literature of about 200 shear tests on beams strengthened with different FRP configuration schemes (fully wraps, U-wraps, side bonding). Numerical comparisons considering the values predicted by the ACI guidelines and a recent shear strength model existing in literature have been also carried out. These numerical investigations show that the proposed model appears as a very good predictor of shear strength and has a significantly smaller coefficient of variation compared to the other models.