Flexural behavior of rubberized concrete beams strengthened in shear using welded wire mesh

In this paper, experimental and numerical studies were implemented to evaluate the effect of Crumb Rubber (CR) ratio and Welded Wire Mesh (WWM) layers on the flexural behavior of RC beams. The volume of fine aggregate was partially replaced by CR particles with three percentages (0%, 10% and 20%). One layer and two layers of the WWM with U shape were additionally added to the shear reinforcement. The test results revealed that, the replacement of fine aggregate by 10% and 20% CR decreased the load capacity of the RC beams by 3.85% and 6.15% respectively compared to that without CR. Conversely, using the WWM as shear reinforcement increased the load capacity of beams and changed beams failure from shear to flexural (steel yielding followed by concrete crushing). The load capacity of RC beams cast without CR and strengthened in shear with one and two WWM layers increased by 6.2% and 9.2% respectively over that without WWM. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the ductility index of the all beams with CR. Finally, the obtained numerical results showed a good agreement with the experimental ones indicating the ability of the numerical model to simulate the behavior of rubberized concrete.