Performance of severely damaged reinforced concrete flat slab-column connections strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer

Abstract

The punching shear failure of a slab‐column connection is a sudden catastrophic failure. The majority of studies have been focused on the strengthening aspects of non‐cracked slab‐column connections. However, the attention given to the retrofitting of heavily damaged slab‐column connections is comparatively less. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the suitable damage repairing methods as well as post‐strengthening methods to enhance performance of damaged slab‐column connections. In this study, a total of twenty‐six heavily damaged medium‐scale flat slab‐column connections were repaired using an in‐situ chip concrete mixture. Then the damage repaired specimens were retrofitted using alternative arrangements of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) in such a way to investigate the effects of sensitivity of bond parameters on punching shear performance. The punching shear capacity enhancements observed from retrofitted connections were in the range between 20% and 90%.