STRENGTHENING REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS USING FIBER-REINFORCED POLYMER (FRP) LAMINATES. DISCUSSION

A discussion of a paper with the aforementioned title by N.F. Grace, G.A. Sayed, A.K. Soliman, and K.R. Saleh, published in this journal (Volume 96, Number 5, September-October 1999), is presented. The discusser points out that in 9 of the 14 beams tested by the authors, the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials were positioned up to the top part of the beam, almost encapsulating the beams. He points out that the situation in practice is not quite always the same and that this solution could not be broadly used, as the slab does not allow the laminates (fibers, sheets, or plates) to be positioned up to the top of the beam.