Ultimate Response of Strengthened RC Beams in the Flexural Using Plain Ce-mentitious Composites Layer

This paper aims to study the efficiency of applying prefabricated layers made from plain cementitious composite materials for enhancing the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) continuous beams. The prefabricated layers have 20 mm thickness, 150 mm width, and adequate development length. The prefabricated layers were placed in the tension cover in the positive and negative zones. All specimens have the same concrete dimensions as well as the same positive and negative steel reinforcement ratios. The results showed that the prefabricated layer was deformed with the RC specimen without debonding, which enhanced the cracking patterns and distributed the cracks along the stressed zone. It was found that beam capacity and the yielding load of the strengthened beam were improved by about 7% and 6%, respectively. Besides, the energy absorption capacity of the strengthened beam decreased by 30.67% compared to the control beam, whereas both control and strengthened beams achieved the same ductility indices.