Experimental study on steel-concrete shear walls with steel encased profiles retrofitted with FRP composites

This paper presents the experimental results of a research program carried out to investigate the possibility of using Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites as retrofitting solutions for composite steel reinforced concrete shear walls (CSRCW). The retrofitting solutions were applied on two composite shear walls damaged during experimental tests, under cyclic lateral loads. The damaged specimens were repaired by replacing the crushed concrete with high-strength repair mortar and thereafter retrofitted with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). The CFRP composites used were strips and plates, applied in order to restore the bending resistance of the walls and to provide confinement effect at the edges. The paper presents a comparative study between the behavior of CSRCW and the behavior of the same elements damaged and retrofitted with CFRP composites. The comparative study is performed in terms of load bearing capacities, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation. Aspects with the behavior of the retrofitting solutions used and the failure modes of the specimens are presented. The results show that the CFRP materials can be a viable solution for retrofitting damaged composite shear walls with steel encased profiles.