Performance of Lightweight Concrete Beams Strengthened with GFRP

Abstract

Authors: Bassam A. Abdelsalam, Ashraf M. A. Heniegal, Esraa E. Ali, Walid S. El-sayed.Lightweight concrete (LWC) has been successfully used in constructions on a large scale for many years from conventional structures such as long-span bridges, high-rise buildings, buildings where soil conditions are poor to highly specialized structures such as floating structures and offshore platforms. In some LWC only coarse lightweight aggregate (LWA) are used, whereas, in others, both coarse and fine LWA are used. On the other side High-performance concrete (HPC) exceeds the properties and constructability of normal concrete. Normal and special materials are used to make these specially designed concretes that must meet a combination of performance requirements. Special mixing, placing, and curing practices may be needed to produce and handle HPC. An investigation to evaluate the structural behavior of lightweight reinforced concrete beams with and without strengthening by one, two and three layers of glass fiber reinforced polymer laminates. In the experimental work, the fresh properties, hardened properties and the durability tests of lightweight concrete were carried out.