Retrofitting of RC Beams Using Natural FRP Wrapping (NSFRP)

Abstract

There is a pressing need to repair or upgrade the building and civil infrastructure in many parts of the world. For instance with the modernization of buildings, it is sometimes desirable to remove supporting walls or individual supports, leading to the need for local strengthening. The strengthening and enhancement of the performance of deficient structural elements or the structure  as a whole is referred to as retrofitting. Retrofit aims to strengthen a building to satisfy the requirements of the current codes for seismic design. The building may not be damaged or deteriorated. The various retrofitting techniques include steel plate bonding, polymer injection followed by concrete jacketing, use of advanced composite materials like FRP, Ferro cement etc.

To meet up the requirements of advance infrastructure new innovative materials technologies in civil engineering industry has started to make its way. During the last decade there has been a renewed interest in the natural fibre as a substitute for conventional as glass fibres and carbon fibres, motivated by potential advantages of weight saving, lower raw material price and thermal recycling or the ecological advantages of using resources which are renewable, also natural fibres are sustainable materials.