Reliability analysis of shear strengthening EBR FRP models

Abstract

This work presents a statistically oriented study aiming to assess the reliability of some of the most well known design models available for the prediction of the contribution of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) systems applied according to the externally bonded reinforcing (EBR) technique for the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Relevant data was collected from experimental programs carried out in recent years in the context of the shear strengthening with FRP, and an extended database was obtained. Using this data, the performance of fib, ACI, Italian and Australian design guidelines was appraised by means of comparing the contribution of the FRP shear systems predicted by the analytical formulations with those registered experimentally. In general, the obtained results were not very promising, since a large scatter of the design safety factor was observed and, for some cases, the contribution of the FRP systems predicted by the design models was highly unconservative, which may be a serious concern as these formulations may be currently being used in design practice.