Experimental study on load-carrying capacity of carbon fiber-sheet-reinforced concrete three-point bending specimen with a V notch

Reinforcing or repairing concrete structures with carbon fiber- sheet (CFS) is a new advanced method to increase load-carrying capacity and extend the life in service. In this paper, a kind of concrete 3-point bending specimens and that reinforced by CFS are used to experimentally study the fracture mechanism and the extreme load-carrying capacity of the specimens, with several different depths of V-notch, a0, and different lengths of the carbon fiber sheet, Lx. The experimental and analytical results of the beams adhered with CFS are: 1) the stiffness and strength of the beams are increased; 2) the failure mode is different from that of plain concrete specimen; 3) the load- carrying capacity is increased greatly; 4) the relationships between the extreme load P and the depth of V-notch a0, and P vs Lx were established.