Experimental Study of the Shear Performance of a Beam Strengthened with Jute and Glass Fiber Hybrid Composite

In beams shear failure occurs when the shear capacity is less than the flexural capacity. Shear strengthening has to be provided under such conditions. The common methods of enhancing the shear capacity of RC beams are Steel plate jacketing, Near mounted surface strengthening method using steel or FRP bars, Externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer strips or laminates. However due to the advantages of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites over other conventional techniques, it has now became a very popular method of shear strengthening. In this paper a total of 3 numbers of shear deficient Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams are designed. A hybrid composite of glass and jute fiber FRP’s is made. Hand layup technique is used to prepare the hybrid composites. These composites are then externally wrapped in beams to enhance the shear capacity. The study is conducted to understand the effect of various wrapping configurations, i.e. full and strip wrapping on the shear strengthening of RC beams. The mechanical properties of glass and jute fiber hybrid composites are determined and the load deflection behavior and ultimate failure load of the beams are analyzed experimentally.