Shear strengthening of deficient concrete beams with marine grade aluminium alloy plates

In this study, high strength aluminum alloys (AA) plates are proposed as a new construction material for strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate AAplate\'s suitability as externally bonded reinforcing (EBR) materials for retrofitting shear deficient beams. A total of twenty RC beams designed to fail in shear were strengthened with different spacing and orientations. The specimens were loaded with four-points loading till failure. The considered outcome parameters included load carrying capacity, deflection, strain in plates, and failure modes. The results of all tested beams showed an increase up to 37% in the load carrying capacity and also an increase in deflection compared to the control un-strengthened beams. This demonstrated the potential of adopting AA plates as EBR material. Finally, the shear contribution from the AA plates was predicted using the models available in the ACI440-08, TR55 and FIB14 design code for fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates. The predicted results were compared to experimental testing data with the ratio of the experimentally measured ultimate load to predicted load, range on the average, between 93% and 97%.