Experimental Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with Prestressed CFRP Shear Straps

One promising means of increasing the capacity of existing shear-deficient beams is to strengthen the structure using external prestressed carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) straps. In this system, layers of CFRP tape are wrapped around a beam to form a strap that acts like a discrete unbonded vertical prestressing tendon. Experiments were undertaken to investigate the influence of the strap spacing, the strap stiffness, the initial strap...