| The research presented in the present work focuses on the shear strengthening of beam column joints using carbon fiber composites, a material considered in seismic retrofit in recent years more than any other new material. These composites, or fiber reinforced polymers, offer huge advantages over structural steel reinforced concrete or timber. A few of these advantages are the superior resistance to corrosion, high stiffness to weight and strength to weight ratios, and the ability to control the material's behavior by selecting the orientation of the fibers.; The design and field application research on reinforced concrete cap beam-column joints includes analytical investigations using pushover analysis; design of carbon fiber layout, experimental tests and field applications.; Several beam column joints have been tested recently with design variables as the type of composite system, fiber orientation and the width of carbon fiber sheets. The surface preparation has been found to be critical for the bond between concrete and composite material, which is the most important factor in joint shear strengthening. The final goal of this thesis is to develop design aids for retrofitting reinforced concrete beam column joints.; Two bridge bents were tested on the Interstate-15 corridor. One bent was tested in the as-is condition. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic composite sheets were used to externally reinforce the second bridge bent. By applying the composite, the displacement ductility has been doubled, and the bent overall lateral load capacity has been increased as well.; The finite element model (using DRAIN-2DX) was calibrated to model the actual stiffness of the supports. The results were similar to the experimental findings. |
