Analytical model for the torsional behaviour of reinforced concrete beams retrofitted with FRP materials

Abstract An analytical approach for the prediction of the torsional response of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with fibre-reinforced-polymer (FRP) materials is described. The analysis method employs the combination of two different theoretical models: a smeared crack model for plain concrete in torsion for the elastic till the first cracking response and a properly modified truss model for the post-cracking response. The proposed method addresses the contribution of the externally bonded FRP materials to the torsional capacity of RC beams using specially developed equations in the well-known truss theory and utilizes softened and FRP-confined concrete stress–strain relationships. Detailed verification of this methodology is achieved through extensive comparisons between analytically predicted behaviour curves and experimentally obtained ones. The experimental data comprise a series of 12 tests in pure torsion and an additional database of experimental information for 24 specimens compiled from works around the world. These comparisons demonstrated that the proposed model is capable of adequately describing the full torsional response and of predicting with satisfactory accuracy the torsional moment at cracking and the ultimate torque capacity of FRP strengthened RC beams. Applications of the developed method as an assessment tool to strengthened beams with U-shaped FRP configurations and some first design examples that demonstrate the contribution of the FRP materials on the torsional response are also included.