ACI STRUCTURAL JOURNAL, cilt.102, sa.1, ss.93-102, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
The results of an experimental program on punching shear-strengthening of reinforced concrete slab-column connections using carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are presented ill this paper. Externally installed CFRP stirrups serving as shear reinforcement were used as a strengthening technique. The effectiveness of different patterns, detailing, and various amounts of CFRP for strengthening were studied. It was found that the proposed method resulted in punching shear capacity increases up to 60% relative to the specimen without any strengthening. In addition, displacement ductility and postpunching resistance of the strengthened specimens increased, resulting in a more ductile failure mode than that of the control specimen. A design method based oil ACI 318-02 expressions is also presented for this innovative use of CFRP for strengthening slab-column connections.