FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF TWO-WAY RC SLABS RETROFITTED USING BASALT FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER (BFRP) WITH MECHANICAL ANCHORAGE.

Strengthening of existing reinforced concrete structural elements has been one of the most important activities in civil engineering. The upgrading of existing structures is an integral part of structural engineering practice. A slab is a flat two dimensional planar structural element having small thickness, compared to its other two dimensions. Reinforced concrete slabs are one of the most commonly used structural elements. Composites are used because overall properties of the composites are superior to those of the individual components. Basalt fibers are made from basalt rocks which are the most common rock type in the earth?s crust. An anchor bolt is used to attach objects or structures to concrete. There are many types of anchor bolts, consisting of designs that are mostly proprietary to the manufacturing companies. All consist of a threaded end, to which a nut and washer can be attached for the external load. The experimental work was conducted on slabs to study the effect of BFRP on flexural behavior of the slabs under the static loads, using cross wrapping technique with mechanical anchoring. The BFRP was to be introduced to slabs in the form of cross wrapping at flexural zone by wet lay-up technique then it was anchored with bolts and plates as per the guidelines of the manufacturers. Control slabs were casted and tested after 28 days under uniformly distributed loading case. Strengthened slabs were tested after 6 days of strengthening and once after it were anchored. From the experimental results it was revealed that the initial crack strength and ultimate load strength of retrofitted slabs with mechanical anchoring are found to be increasing by at least 39.585% comparatively and stiffness of wrapped slabs were found to be increased.