Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix Systems for Fire-Safe Flexural Strengthening of Concrete: Pilot Testing at Ambient Temperatures

Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) systems have emerge d in the last five years as novel means of strengthening damaged or deficient masonry r concrete structural members. These systems typically consist of open-weave carbo n fi re fabrics which are applied to the surfaces of structural elements, walls, domes, or s hells using specialized inorganic mortars. More recently, fibre reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) systems based on non-woven polybenzoxozole (PBO) fibre rovings have also been introduced. TRM and FRCM systems have a number of advantages over alternative streng th ing systems such as externallybonded (EB) fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs), most no ably their breathability and purported superior performance in fire. However, wh ile TRM and FRCM systems have seen limited application in Europe, additional rese arch is needed before they can be widely applied with confidence, both with respect to their pe formance under ambient conditions and regarding their ability to resist the effects o f exposure to high temperature. This paper reports the initial results of a pilot experimental study into the performance at ambient temperature of a unique FRCM system for strengtheni ng reinforced concrete flexural elements. Tests on small-scale reinforced concrete b ams (designed to simulate one-way spanning concrete slabs) are presented. A compariso n of the FRCM system against an EB carbon/epoxy FRP strengthening system is provided.