Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

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Case Studies in Construction Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cscm

The behavior heated-damaged reinforced concrete beams

retrofitted with different CFRP strip length and number of
transverse groove
Rajai Z. Al-Rousan *, Jameel N. Al-Muhiedat
Civil Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The potential of recovering the flexural performance of thermally damaged concrete beams using
CFRP Strips carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips with groove technique was experimentally inves­
Elevated Temperature tigated. Twenty reinforced concrete beams (150 × 200 × 1100 mm) were cast then cured for 28
Grooves
days in moist burlap. A set of thirty-nine beams were heated at 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C for two
Flexural Reinforced Concrete Beams
Carbon Fiber
hours using an electrical furnace, whereas those of the second set of thirteen beams were left in
Debonding laboratory air (23 ◦ C). Nevertheless, debonding and anchoring problems remain a challenge for
the success of this technique. In this study, an innovative application was implemented in which
CFRP strip length with different lengths was integrated as external flexural reinforcement for
reinforced concrete beams by using the groove technique. The intent was to assess the contri­
bution of the CFRP strips to the flexural strength and thus evaluate the effectiveness of using them
as primary or supplemental flexural reinforcement before and after exposing to elevated tem­
perature. The investigated parameters include the number of transverse grooves and different
elevated temperatures. The mechanical performance of other beams was evaluated under a four-
point loading test setup, including measurement of strain in CFRP strips and mid-span deflection.
Moreover, cracking and failure modes were monitored and characterized. Intact/strengthened
and heat-damaged/strengthened beams showed improved ultimate strength, ultimate deflection,
stiffness, and toughness compared to control ones. Different performance indicators revealed the
good potential of strengthened heat-damaged beams using CFRP strips with grooves. Further­
more, the results showed that the grooving method performs better than surface preparation
without grooves. So that the strengthening with grooves prevents premature delaminating and
some of the concrete shatters in the tension side, and the weakness of beams in debonding
phenomena disappeared, and flexural failure became dominant failure mode with full attachment
of CFRP strips with concrete.

1. Introduction

Reinforced concrete (RC) structural members are designed to have sufficient strength to resist all types of loads. However, in the
event of a fire, these structures are exposed to very high temperatures that negatively affect their mechanical and physiochemical
properties, causing the structural elements to deface and displace, and possibly spall under certain circumstances. As exposure

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rzalrousan@just.edu.jo (R.Z. Al-Rousan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e00896
Received 4 November 2021; Received in revised form 12 January 2022; Accepted 15 January 2022
Available online 15 January 2022
2214-5095/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

temperatures exceed 400 ◦ C, evaporable water is forced out from concrete’s capillary, gel, and interlayer pores, in sequences, with
calcium hydroxide decomposed at about 400 ◦ C and C-S-H broken down and combined water lost in the temperature range of
500–800 ◦ C [1]. Usually, RC structures withstand low to moderate fire exposure conditions because of their high thermal capacity and
low thermal conductivity. However, upon exposure to an accidental fire for periods exceeding two hours, concrete structures would
show noticeable degradation, severe reductions in concrete’s strength and stiffness, loss in steel reinforcements yield strength, and
degradation in the bond between concrete and steel [2]. The level of degradation in these structural elements depends on the type of
structural element and extent and rate of fire, type of load, and support conditions. Documented fire accidents showed that few
concrete structures had collapsed due to fire and that the majority of these structures are repairable. Accordingly, the potential of
repairing heat-damaged concrete members has received a lot of interest, especially over the past 30 years [3,4]. Al-Rousan and
AL-Tahat evaluated the effectiveness of using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites with special anchoring grooves,
specifically in terms of the ability of the concrete–CFRP bond to withstand elevated temperatures [3]. The obtained findings by
Al-Rousan and AL-Tahat clearly highlighted the effectiveness of the direction of the anchoring grooves on the behavior of the con­
crete–CFRP bonding area [3]. It appeared, also, that the temperature and the number of anchored grooves significantly affected the
bonding area of the surface; as the surface was exposed to failure in adhesion, more concrete remained attached to the CFRP composite,
signifying a stronger attachment [3]. Al-Rousan presented an innovative application in which CFRP strips were integrated as external
shear reinforcement for beams by using the groove technique [4]. The investigated parameters include the area and number of layers of
CFRP strips and different elevated temperatures [4]. By demonstrating an outstanding structural performance with significant
enhancement in the ultimate strength, ultimate deflection, stiffness, and toughness, this paper’s findings strongly attest that CFRP
strips can be effectively utilized as external shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams exposed to elevated temperatures [4].
It was upgrading the capacity of RC components with externally bonded CFRP materials that have been carried out extensively in
recent decades [3,4]. The popularity of composite materials is concerned with its unique advantages, including very high tensile
strength, lightweight, easy implementation, relatively high ductility, and absorption capacity [3,4]. One of the significant applications
of CFRP composites in RC structures is their use as externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) for the flexural strengthening of beams and
slabs. In the EBR method, after surface preparation, the FRP sheet is adhesively bonded to the tension face of the concrete beam.
Surface preparation aims to remove contamination and weak surface layers and polish the concrete surface to promote its adherence
capacity. However, the main deficiency in the performance of the EBR technique is the high possibility of a brittle failure mode that is
mostly due to premature debonding of CFRP sheet from the concrete substrate, which occurs at much lower FRP strains than its ul­
timate strain [5,6]. Researchers have conducted many experiments to quantify the major debonding mechanisms, i.e., intermediate
crack debonding, plate-end interfacial debonding, and concrete cover separation [7–10].
Researchers have studied the shear performance of the externally-bonded reinforcement (EBR) technique by vertically or diago­
nally attaching FRP plates or sheets to the beam’s sides [11–13]. They also mentioned CFRP debonding as the most disadvantage of this
method. Debonding is known to occur at a low axial strain level of FRP. This phenomenon usually occurs in regions with high-stress
concentrations [13,14]. Studies also show that the formation of cracks reduces interfacial bonding stresses in the CFRP laminate [15].
The viability of using a near surface mounted (NSM) system is reported to improve shear behavior and involves embedding thin CFRP
laminates into epoxy-filled slits on lateral surfaces of beams. NSM technique postpones debonding of CFRP laminates and positively
increases the shear capacity of RC beams [16,17]. In addition, no delamination at both ends of the flexural members occurs between
concrete and fiber [17–19]. Furthermore, the quality of the concrete inside the slit is usually better than that on the surface concrete;
and NSM reinforcement is protected by concrete cover such that it will not be faced with environmental damages [20,21]. It should be
mentioned that anchor systems were developed to avoid debonding limitations and have been utilized extensively by most researchers
[22,23]. Grooving methods such as externally bonded reinforcement on grooves (EBROG) and externally bonded reinforcement in
grooves (EBRIG) techniques were recently introduced to postpone debonding of FRP sheets [24–28]. It is observed that employing
these techniques can significantly enhance the shear and flexural capacities and delay or even prevent the CFRP debonding. The
performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams in terms of flexure, shear, or both; can be significantly improved through the
attachment of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites to the outside surface of the beam [29–31]. The performance of
CFRP composites as an effective strengthening/repair method depends largely on the quality of the bond with the concrete surface.
According to the manufacturers’ recommendations, debonding problems are frequently encountered despite using a special adhesive,
especially at the ends of the CFRP composites or near the highly stressed/cracked regions [32–36].
Elevated temperatures cause severe damage to reinforced concrete (RC) structures, such as RC beams. RC beams have been re­
ported to lose strength and stiffness with relatively large permanent deformations because of exposure to high temperatures [37].
These harmful effects could be attributed to the deterioration of mechanical characteristics of concrete and steel rebars and the
redistribution of stresses within the beam due to the elevated temperatures [37]. The results showed that externally bonded CFRP
sheets and laminates could enhance the flexural behavior of the beams and recover, to a specific limit, the flexural strength of
heat-damaged beams. Reinforcing concrete structures are often subjected to cycles of heating–cooling such as in chimneys, concrete
foundations for launching rockets carrying spaceships, concrete near to the furnace, clinker silos, and nuclear power plants, or those
subjected to fire then extinguished using water. Temperature cycles are critical to the stability of concrete structures and require
considerations upon design [38]. As well stipulated, the mechanical properties of concrete are preserved for exposure temperatures
below 300 ◦ C, yet are decreased considerably as the temperature exceeds 500 ◦ C. Additional damage results from rabid cooling such as
in the case of distinguishing of fire with cool water due to creation of temperature gradient between concrete core and its surface. This
results in tensile stresses on the concrete surface that are high enough to crack concrete. This is considered another source of damage
resulting from incompatible expansion and contraction of aggregate and surrounding cement paste. The magnitude of damage is
influenced by many factors such as the size of concrete members, the type of cement and aggregate, the concrete moisture content, and

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the predominant environmental factors, those are represented in heating exposure time, and rate, type of cooling, and maximum
temperature attained [39]. A lack of literature regarding the flexural behavior of heat-damaged reinforced concrete beams in terms of
the number of transverse drilling grooves and the elevated temperatures is necessitated in conducting the present investigation. The
main objectives of this study are to predict the impact of transverse groove on the flexural behavior externally strengthened with CFRP
composites taking into account the effects of the length of CFRP strips (0 mm, 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm), the number of
transverse grooves (0, 2, 3, and 4 grooves), and elevated temperature (23 ◦ C, 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C).

Fig. 1. Specimens dimensions, reinforcement, test setup, instrumentations, and specimen designation.

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2. Materials and methodology

2.1. Fabrication of specimens

The practical side of this paper consisted of constructing forty specimens of RC beams that were (150 × 200 mm) in cross-section
and (1100 mm) in total length; as those beams were tested under four points’ loading as simply supported, as appeared in Fig. 1(a). The
beams were reinforced with 2ϕ10 bars on the bottom, and 2ϕ10 bars on the top side (Fig. 1(a)); while those bars were supported by ϕ8
stirrups located at a distance of 50 mm within shear span to hold them steady, as shown in Fig. 1.
In addition, one 50 mm strip of CFRP with different lengths (0 mm, 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm) was attached to the bottom
side of the beams, as shown in Fig. 1(b). of the tested beams are summarized in Table 1. For example, BG2Lf400T23 indicates a flexural

Table 1
The details and results tested flexural beams.
Group Specimen Number of Transverse Grooves T,◦ C CFRP Length, mm Pu, kN Δu, mm εCFRP εCFRP/εfu (%)
1 BG0Lf0T23 0 23 None (0 mm) 138.1 8.78 0 0
BG0Lf400T23 0 400 mm 157.4 10.83 2210 13
BG0Lf600T23 600 mm 167.3 11.49 2893 17
BG0Lf800T23 800 mm 182.3 13.11 3854 23
BG2Lf400T23 2 400 mm 156.8 11.44 2451 14
BG2Lf600T23 600 mm 169.1 12.14 3271 19
BG2Lf800T23 800 mm 181.3 13.83 4430 26
BG3Lf400T23 3 400 mm 167.6 13.50 3037 18
BG3Lf600T23 600 mm 179.6 14.19 4091 24
BG3Lf800T23 800 mm 192.0 15.23 5318 31
BG4Lf400T23 4 400 mm 191.7 16.10 3802 22
BG4Lf600T23 600 mm 207.1 17.24 5319 31
BG4Lf800T23 800 mm 225.2 18.54 7056 42
2 BG0Lf0T250 0 250 None (0 mm) 126.0 8.05 0.0 0
BG0Lf400T250 0 400 mm 143.5 9.66 1978 12
BG0Lf600T250 600 mm 153.6 10.61 2691 16
BG0Lf800T250 800 mm 167.1 11.86 3518 21
BG2Lf400T250 2 400 mm 143.8 10.27 2225 13
BG2Lf600T250 600 mm 155.0 10.91 2990 18
BG2Lf800T250 800 mm 167.5 12.56 4106 24
BG3Lf400T250 3 400 mm 155.1 12.29 2834 17
BG3Lf600T250 600 mm 165.0 13.20 3918 23
BG3Lf800T250 800 mm 177.0 14.12 5096 30
BG4Lf400T250 4 400 mm 178.2 13.43 3290 19
BG4Lf600T250 600 mm 190.6 14.67 4717 28
BG4Lf800T250 800 mm 208.2 15.70 6283 37
3 BG0Lf0T500 0 500 None (0 mm) 96.4 7.65 0.0 0
BG0Lf400T500 0 400 mm 110.7 9.09 1869 11
BG0Lf600T500 600 mm 118.8 9.78 2498 15
BG0Lf800T500 800 mm 129.2 10.61 3176 19
BG2Lf400T500 2 400 mm 112.3 8.86 1941 11
BG2Lf600T500 600 mm 119.6 9.78 2726 16
BG2Lf800T500 800 mm 132.6 10.74 3582 21
BG3Lf400T500 3 400 mm 113.3 9.07 2144 13
BG3Lf600T500 600 mm 121.0 9.81 2997 18
BG3Lf800T500 800 mm 135.8 10.99 4100 24
BG4Lf400T500 4 400 mm 114.9 8.86 2251 13
BG4Lf600T500 600 mm 122.0 9.66 3238 19
BG4Lf800T500 800 mm 139.1 10.71 4507 27
Group Specimen Number of Transverse Grooves T,◦ C CFRP Length, mm Pu, kN Δu, mm εCFRP εCFRP/εfu (%)
4 BG0Lf0T750 0 750 None (0 mm) 71.4 7.56 0.0 0.0
BG0Lf400T750 0 400 mm 81.5 8.68 1784 10.5
BG0Lf600T750 600 mm 88.6 9.08 2319 13.6
BG0Lf800T750 800 mm 97.1 9.96 2981 17.5
BG2Lf400T750 2 400 mm 83.1 8.34 1828 10.8
BG2Lf600T750 600 mm 88.9 9.12 2542 15.0
BG2Lf800T750 800 mm 98.3 9.82 3275 19.3
BG3Lf400T750 3 400 mm 83.3 8.61 2035 12.0
BG3Lf600T750 600 mm 89.0 9.29 2838 16.7
BG3Lf800T750 800 mm 100.0 10.03 3741 22.0
BG4Lf400T750 4 400 mm 84.9 9.09 2310 13.6
BG4Lf600T750 600 mm 90.5 9.78 3278 19.3
BG4Lf800T750 800 mm 102.1 10.48 4410 25.9

Note: Pu: Ultimate Load, Δu: Ultimate deflection, T: Temperature εf = CFRP strain, εCFRP is the strain in CFRP strips, and εfu is the ultimate strain in
CFRP strips of 17000 με. A typical ductile flexural failure was observed in all un-damaged and heat-damaged beams.

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beam (B) in the first set applied two transverse grooves (G2), strengthened with CFRP strip with a length of 400 mm which applied
externally and exposed to the temperature of 23 ◦ C (Room temperature). The investigated parameters in this study are the length of
CFRP strips (0 mm, 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm), the number of transverse grooves (0, 2, 3, and 4 grooves), and elevated tem­
perature (23 ◦ C, 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C) as shown in Table 1.

2.2. Material properties

One concrete mix was used to cast all the concrete prisms. It was designed according to the ACI mix design procedure [40] using
Type I ordinary Portland cement, tap water, crushed coarse aggregate, and crushed fine aggregate in order to obtain 28-days
compressive cylinder strength and tensile strength of 50 MPa and 4.31 MPa at room temperature of 23 ◦ C, respectively, as well as
a slump of 80 mm as shown in Table 2. The used steel bars were Grade 60 steel, yielding a 420 MPa. CFRP sheets (SikaWrap® − 300 C)
and adhesive epoxy (Sikadur®− 330), manufactured by SIKA, were used in the preparation of specimens. The physical and mechanical
properties for the CFRP sheets and adhesive epoxy as provided by the manufacturer (SIKA) are shown in Table 3, respectively.

2.3. Mixing of specimens

The beams are casted by using a tilting drum mixer with a capacity of 0.15 m3. Firstly, the tilting drum mixer’s inner surface was
wetted. All the crushed limestone coarse aggregates with the used water were added during the tilting drum mixer running. After that,
the fine aggregates, cement, and water were added gradually. Finally, the super-plasticizer with the last amount of used water was
added to the concrete mixture. Lastly, all the concrete mixture ingredients were mixed for five minutes before pouring into wooden
molds with inner dimensions of (150 × 200 × 1100 mm) and compacted with an electrical vibrator (Fig. 2). After twenty-four hours of
casting, all beams were de-molded and then cured in a lime-saturated water tank for 28 days.

2.4. Heat treatment method

Concrete beams, in duplicates, with standard cylinder specimens, were exposed to high temperatures of 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C
for two hours (heating rate about 0.65 ◦ C/min) in an electrical furnace with temperature and heating time controlled by an electronic
panel, located next to the furnace as shown in Fig. 3. After heating, the beams were allowed to cool down inside the furnace at a rate of
24 ◦ C/h before being taken out and covered with plastic sheets to prevent possible self-healing by air moisture [3,4,41]. Because of the
beams’ relatively large size and high moisture content, the heating process continued for a few hours until the target temperatures
were reached: Fig. 3 shows the adopted heating regime.

2.5. Bonding of CFRP sheets to the concrete beams

The concrete beams were demolded after 24 h of casting and cured in a lime-saturated water tank for 28 days. The bonded area was
marked, while the un-bonded area was covered with plastering tape to be free of epoxy (Fig. 4(a)). Secondly, the concrete bonded area
was roughened and brushed with a steel wire cup brush to provide leveled contact between CFRP sheets and concrete. The air vacuum
cleaner removed any dust and lose particles from the bonded area (Fig. 4(b)). Thirdly, the grooves were then drilled into the bonded
area with a depth of 10 mm (Fig. 1(a)), the width of 10 mm, and length of 50 mm (Sheet width) (Fig. 4(c)), and the distance between
the grooves as shown in Fig. 1(b). Based on investigated parameters, the CFRP composite sheets were cut into sheets with a width of
50 mm and required length (Fig. 4(c)). The epoxy compounds (parts A and B) were prepared using a low-speed electric drill for at least
3 min to get a homogenous epoxy mixture. Fourthly, the epoxy first layer was applied uniformly over the bonded area, and then the
CFRP composite sheet was placed onto the epoxy, and a plastic roller was used along the fiber direction in order to remove any
entrapped air bubbles. Finally, the epoxy second layer was applied over the CFRP sheet bonded area to make sure homogeneous epoxy
distribution (Fig. 4(d)).

2.6. Test setup and instrumentation

All beams were tested as simply supported in a four-point loading configuration, as shown in Fig. 1. The simply supported span was
1000 mm, and the shear span (a) was 300 mm. The loading was applied using a special actuator, servo-controlled using a special data
acquisition system. The mid-span deflection was measured using a linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT). At the tension side

Table 2
Mixture proportions of concrete.
Material Mix# 1 (50 MPa)

Cement 422 kg/m3

Coarse Aggregate 706 kg/m3
Fine Aggregate 621 kg/m3
Water 147.6 kg/m3
Superplasticizer As required

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Table 3
Physical and mechanical properties of sika CFRP sheet and sika epoxy.
Sika CFRP Sheet Fabric Thickness 0.167 mm (based on fiber content).

Fiber Density 1.82 g/cm3

Tensile Modulus 230,000 N/mm2
Tensile Strength 4000 N/mm2
Elongation break 1.7%
Sika Epoxy Tensile Strength 30 N/mm2 (7 days at +23 ◦ C)
E-Modulus Flexural: 3800 N/mm2 (7 days at +23 ◦ C)
Tensile: 4500 N/mm2 (7 days at +23 ◦ C)
Break Elongation 0.9% (7 days at +23 ◦ C)

Fig. 2. The mixing, casting, and curing of reinforced concrete beams.

of the beam, one strain gauge was attached to the central CFRP sheet to collect the strain values, as shown in Fig. 1.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Visual evaluation of cracks extent

Upon exposure to high temperatures in the event of an aggressive fire, various structural elements in concrete buildings receive
damage, hence loss in their structural capacity. Beams, for example, show a significant reduction in their flexural and shear capacity
and crack or spall significantly, thus becoming susceptible to chemical and physical attacks. Fig. 5 shows the cracking pattern mapped
for prisms concrete specimens (150 × 150 × 200) after exposure to 23 ◦ C (Room temperature), 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C. Inspection
of Fig. 5 reveals that exposing RC beams to temperatures of 250–750 ◦ C for two hours resulted in a limited number of cracks in for
250 ◦ C and shows extensive minor cracks spread over the surfaces above 500 ◦ C. The observed damage reflected the combined effect of
concrete expansion due to an increased temperature beyond its elastic limit, the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between
aggregate and cement paste, internal vapor pressure of gel water, and decomposition of hydration products above 500 ◦ C. Therefore,
more intense cracking was seen on the beams, post-heated to a temperature of above 500 ◦ C. The cracking patterns were depicted
directly after heating because most of them tended to be infeasible after cooling to room temperature.

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Fig. 3. The (a) time-temperature schedule and (b) furnace.

Fig. 4. Bonding of CFRP sheets to reinforced concrete beams.

Fig. 5. Crack patterns in concrete specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.

A photo was taken for each damaged specimen and processed in computer using the AutoCAD program to numerically evaluate the
intensity of cracks. The cracks were marked before taking the photos. The program could differentiate between the area of concrete and
the area of cracks and then obtain the intensity of cracks by calculating the percent of cracks area to the surface area of specimens as

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shown in Fig. 6. In addition to the intensity of the crack, crack width was measured, as shown in Fig. 6. Inspection of Fig. 6 reveals that
the crack width increased with temperature increase.

3.2. Effect of elevated temperatures on strength residuals

The effect of exposing specimens to elevated temperatures is demonstrated in Fig. 7, which depicts the residuals for compressive
and slitting strength versus temperature. The curves followed an almost similar trend behavior represented in a slight decrease at a
temperature of 250 ◦ C followed by a significant decrease at higher temperatures. The detrimental effect of high temperatures greater
than 500 ◦ C on both strengths can be referred to as thermally induced cracks and/or decomposition of cement binding materials
(beyond 500 ◦ C). The damage by heating caused map type cracking which increased with elevated temperature without an apparent
surface alteration. The residual strengths (compressive, splitting) is (87%, 84%) at 250 ◦ C to (51%, 49%) at 750 ◦ C (Fig. 7) and theses
residual strengths is similar to Haddad and Almasaeid [41].

3.3. Mode of failure

To enable a more detailed analysis of the structural flexural behavior of the beams, the development of the crack was documented
at several load steps during the experimental procedure. The failure modes of the control beam and strengthened beams are shown in
Figs. 8 to 10. The distribution and numbers of the flexural cracks increased with the increase of the exposed temperature (Fig. 8), CFRP
sheet length (Fig. 9), and the number of transverse grooves (Fig. 10).
The first flexural crack for the control beam (un-strengthened) occurred at the mid-span of the beam, and other flexural cracks
followed it in other locations followed by delaminating (debonding) of the external CFRP sheet (Fig. 9). This is due to the ability of the
CFRP sheet to bridge the flexural cracks by providing sufficient development length.
In addition, the number of transverse grooves had a notable impact on the numbers and length of the flexural cracks in which the
crack numbers and length are more noticed for strengthening with grooves than strengthening without grooves, as shown in Fig. 10.
This could be endorsed to that the strengthening with grooves prevents premature delaminating and this reflects the excellent behavior
of this strengthening in the arresting of the flexural crack. It must be noted that the efficiency of the CFRP sheet length, in improving
the structural flexural behavior, governs the value of loads that cause concrete crushing in the middle (Fig. 9). As more load was
imposed, the flexural and shear originated cracks extended into the compression zone causing crushing of compressive concrete and
the spalling of concrete at the compressive region become less significant for those underwent a higher temperature. Occasionally,
some of the concrete shatters from groove-reinforced-by-CFRP beams at failure due to the satisfactory CFRP development length. This
makes the structure exposed to a possible rupture in the CFRP sheets, as depicted in Fig. 10. While beams reinforced externally with
CFRP without grooves failed flexural, followed by debonding the CFRP sheet from the concrete surface. The delamination occurs
between the strips-adhesive-concrete at the strip-end region of the strengthened beam (Fig. 9). The cause of this failure was that the
bonding strength was greater than the maximum stresses in the adhesive material. Compared with the control beam, mild flexural
cracks appeared, while the inner core stayed almost undamaged. The CFRP sheet helped the structural element resist the emerging
stresses, reducing the stresses intensity of the mid-span cracks and the following cracking. Fig. 11 shows the typical delamination of
CFRP strips.

Fig. 6. Crack intensity and width in concrete specimens after exposure to elevated temperatures.

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Fig. 7. Residuals for compressive and splitting strengths versus exposure temperature.

Fig. 8. The effect of temperature on failure mode of the control specimen.

3.4. Load-deflection behavior

Fig. 12 shows the load-deflection behavior for all tested beams. The load deflection behavior will be evaluated in-depth in the
following sections regarding ultimate load and corresponding deflection, stiffness, toughness, and performance factors. The plots of
Fig. 12 reveal that the load-deflection curves consist of a straight line representing the pre-cracking phase, followed by a variation in
the slope representing the behavior of beams after the creation of flexural cracks. The tested beams reinforced externally with CFRP
composites with and without grooves had a higher load-carrying capacity than the un-reinforced (control) beam. In addition, the
curves showed that the more the bonded area was, the better performance the beams exhibited; i.e., the beams with CFRP sheet length
of 800 mm performed better than those with CFRP length of 400 mm. By running a comparative analysis, the obtained results showed
that the reinforced samples, by a sheet of CFRP, were much better than the control beam in terms of the non-proportional enhancement
in each of stiffness, ultimate strength, and ultimate deflection. These factors were even more enhanced when the length of CFRP sheet
was increased. On the other side, the beams reinforced with a certain length of external CFRP sheet with grooves were higher in each of
stiffness, ultimate strength, and ultimate deflection than those with the same length of external CFRP sheet without grooves.

3.5. Failure loads and corresponding deflection

Table 1 shows the ultimate strength and corresponding ultimate deflection of each beam. The failure load and corresponding
deflection for all tested beams are normalized with respect to control ones, as shown in Fig. 13. The beams reinforced externally with

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Fig. 9. The effect of CFRP sheet length on failure mode.

Fig. 10. The effect the number of transverse grooves on failure mode.

CFRP sheet used a CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm improved the ultimate strength by 20%, 29%, and 40%, respectively
(Fig. 13(a)). The corresponding increase in the ultimate deflection was 48%, 57%, and 73%, almost equal to two times the ultimate
strength improvement percentages (Fig. 12(b)).
For the beams reinforced with grooved CFRP sheet, integration of two, three, and four transverse grooves improved the ultimate
strength by 6%, 14%, and 34%, respectively (Fig. 13(a)). The corresponding increase in the ultimate deflection was 8%, 28%, and 62%,

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Fig. 11. The typical delamination of CFRP strips.

and this equal to 1.70 times the ultimate strength improvement percentages (Fig. 13(b)).
These results are encouraging and indicate that the use of CFRP sheet with transverse grooves is more influential in improving the
RC beams’ flexural strength than the use of CFRP sheet as external reinforcement without groove. This could be due to the external
CFRP sheet without grooves debonding before reaching the failure load. The external CFRP sheet with grooves showed some rupturing
at failure load, participating effectively as the external CFRP sheet. The average failure load reduction percentage (Fig. 13(a)) for tested
beams with respect to beams exposed to 23 ◦ C is 10%, 42%, and 65% for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C, respectively. Therefore, a
reduction in concrete compressive strength of 13%, 49%, and 76% for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C caused a reduction in failure load of
10%, 42%, and 65%, respectively. This means that an average reduction of 1.00% in concrete compressive strength caused an average
reduction of 0.85% in failure load. While, the average failure deflection reduction percentage (Fig. 13(b)) for tested beams with respect
to beams exposed to 23 ◦ C is 17%, 47%, and 53% for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C, respectively, and this is equal to 1.2 times the
reduction percentages in failure load.

3.6. Evaluation of another mechanical characteristic

Aside from the ultimate load capacity, the engineers specialized in structural rehabilitation investigate other mechanical char­
acteristics, such as energy ductility (toughness) and stiffness. The beam toughness is defined as the area under the load-deflection
curve. At the same time, the stiffness is specified as the slope of the linear elastic portion of the corresponding load-deflection
curve (k = p/δ), as depicted in Table 4. In order to measure the variation in stiffness and toughness, the values were plotted graph­
ically after they had been normalized with respect to the control beams, as shown in Fig. 14. The beams reinforced externally with

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

Fig. 12. Effect of elevated temperature and transverse grooves on load-deflection curves.

CFRP sheet used a CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm improved the elastic stiffness by 14%, 30%, and 36%, respectively
(Fig. 14(a)). The increase in the toughness was 88%, 113%, and 159%, and this is almost equal to 450% of the elastic stiffness
improvement percentages (Fig. 14(b)). For the beams reinforced with grooved CFRP sheet, integration of two, three, and four
transverse grooves improved the elastic stiffness by 4%, 9%, and 24%, respectively (Fig. 14(a)). The increase in the toughness was
18%, 58%, and 148%, and this is equal to 6.05 times the elastic stiffness improvement percentages (Fig. 14(b)). It is obvious that an
external CFRP sheet with grooves helped improve elastic stiffness and significantly enhanced the toughness. The CFRP sheet with
grooves contributed to the highest concrete confinement and crack-arresting, reflecting the toughness. Due to their capability of
bridging and carrying stresses across the diagonal cracking, the CFRP composites limit the increase in this type of crack. That leads to
enhancement in the resistance to crack and a delay in the appearance of initial flexural cracking; Thus, resulting in an improvement in
the RC beams’ performance when exposed to service load conditions represented in enhanced ultimate load, as well as stiffness and
toughness, as discussed earlier.
The average elastic stiffness reduction percentage (Fig. 14(a)) for tested beams with respect to beams exposed to 23 ◦ C is 7%, 36%,
and 59% for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C, respectively. Therefore, a reduction in concrete compressive strength of 13%, 49%, and 76%
for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C caused a reduction in failure load of 7%, 36%, and 59%, respectively. This means that an average
reduction of 1.00% in concrete compressive strength caused an average reduction of 0.74% in elastic stiffness. While, the average
toughness reduction percentage (Fig. 14(b)) for tested beams with respect to beams exposed to 23 ◦ C is 23%, 47%, and 66% for 250 ◦ C,
500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C, respectively, and this is equal to 1.2 times the reduction percentages in elastic stiffness.

3.7. Evaluation of performance

In undamaged control RC beams, the ultimate load limit state is the ultimate load capacity, where the state of serviceability is

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

Fig. 13. The normalized failure load and corresponding deflection for various beams.

illustrated as the resultant deflection. Compared to the control beam, the deformability factor (DF) is the deflection occurring in a
strengthened beam; while the strength factor (SF) is the strengthened beam maximum load capacity. In addition, the Performance
Factor (PF) is the general performance of the beam that has repaired composite, and it is the result of multiplying DF by SF. Also, the
terms stiffness factor (STF) define the stiffness of a reinforced structure, while the toughness factor (TF) indicates the reinforced
structure toughness. All of the mentioned factors are important to be specified to determine the effectiveness of the CFRP composite
materials in strengthening structures, as depicted in Table 4. Inspection of Table 4 reveals that the values of performance factor,
stiffness factor, and toughness factor increased with the number of CFRP sheet and grooves numbers. Thus, using a CFRP sheet as
external reinforcement with grooves is more effective in improving the performance factor, stiffness factor, and toughness factor of
reinforced concrete beams than using a CFRP sheet as external reinforcement. At the same time, these factors decreased with the
increase of temperature (Table 4).

3.8. Profitability index of the CFRP sheet number

The effectiveness of the CFRP sheet in flexural strengthening was evaluated by subtracting the control beam’s strength from the
strength of the ones equipped with the CFRP sheet. This evaluation is logical because all of the beams were: similarly cast with the same
mix of concrete, reinforced with the same steel reinforcement, and similarly fabricated and tested. It must be mentioned that to be able
to specify the efficiency of the CFRP strengthening techniques, with respect to the consumed quantity of CFRP, the profitability index
must be computed. The profitability index is explicated as the ratio of CFRP contribution in flexural capacity to the total CFRP bonded
area of strengthened beams [4,42]. Fig. 15, which exhibits the profitability indices for various strengthening techniques, reveals that
the profitability index was decreased with the increase of sheet lengths and elevated temperature and increased with the increase of
grove numbers. It is evident that an increase in the CFRP bonded area (number of CFRP sheets) results in reducing the profitability
index; and, hence, causes a delay in the de-bonding of CFRP, resulting in an enhancement in the ultimate load at failure. These results
provide a remarkable assessment criterion for evaluating the efficiency of using CFRP sheets as external reinforcement with grooves in
terms of the amount of CFRP consumed.
The average profitability index for using bonded CFRP as external reinforcement is 8.32 MPa for beams strengthened with 400 mm

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

Table 4
Characteristics of load deflection behavior.
Group Specimen Stiffness, kN/mm Toughness, kN.mm DF SF PF STF TF

1 BG0Lf0T23 34.3 946 2.57 1.18 3.02 1.00 1.00

BG0Lf400T23 36.1 1297 3.15 1.20 3.79 1.05 1.37
BG0Lf600T23 40.9 1470 3.68 1.25 4.59 1.19 1.55
BG0Lf800T23 43.6 1865 4.27 1.29 5.53 1.27 1.97
BG2Lf400T23 37.4 1442 3.33 1.22 4.06 1.09 1.52
BG2Lf600T23 42.8 1647 3.89 1.27 4.93 1.25 1.74
BG2Lf800T23 44.8 2052 4.50 1.32 5.93 1.31 2.17
BG3Lf400T23 38.8 1837 3.93 1.26 4.93 1.13 1.94
BG3Lf600T23 44.3 2057 4.55 1.30 5.90 1.29 2.17
BG3Lf800T23 46.4 2376 4.96 1.35 6.69 1.35 2.51
BG4Lf400T23 43.5 2533 4.68 1.28 6.00 1.27 2.68
BG4Lf600T23 49.7 2905 5.53 1.34 7.38 1.45 3.07
BG4Lf800T23 52.4 3408 6.04 1.40 8.45 1.53 3.60
2 BG0Lf0T250 31.6 780 2.35 1.17 2.75 0.92 0.82
BG0Lf400T250 33.4 1045 2.81 1.19 3.34 0.97 1.10
BG0Lf600T250 37.9 1238 3.40 1.23 4.19 1.11 1.31
BG0Lf800T250 40.5 1533 3.86 1.28 4.93 1.18 1.62
BG2Lf400T250 34.8 1178 2.99 1.20 3.59 1.02 1.24
BG2Lf600T250 40.1 1354 3.50 1.24 4.34 1.17 1.43
BG2Lf800T250 42.1 1713 4.09 1.29 5.30 1.23 1.81
BG3Lf400T250 36.6 1544 3.58 1.23 4.40 1.07 1.63
BG3Lf600T250 42.0 1780 4.23 1.26 5.32 1.23 1.88
BG3Lf800T250 44.1 2055 4.60 1.31 6.01 1.29 2.17
BG4Lf400T250 41.6 1942 3.91 1.25 4.87 1.21 2.05
BG4Lf600T250 47.7 2288 4.70 1.28 6.02 1.39 2.42
BG4Lf800T250 50.7 2690 5.11 1.34 6.83 1.48 2.84
3 BG0Lf0T500 24.6 567 2.24 1.15 2.56 0.72 0.60
BG0Lf400T500 26.1 756 2.64 1.17 3.09 0.76 0.80
BG0Lf600T500 29.7 876 3.13 1.22 3.81 0.87 0.93
BG0Lf800T500 31.8 1048 3.46 1.26 4.34 0.93 1.11
BG2Lf400T500 27.7 777 2.58 1.18 3.04 0.81 0.82
BG2Lf600T500 31.6 931 3.13 1.21 3.80 0.92 0.98
BG2Lf800T500 33.9 1138 3.50 1.28 4.46 0.99 1.20
BG3Lf400T500 28.1 811 2.64 1.17 3.10 0.82 0.86
BG3Lf600T500 32.0 945 3.14 1.21 3.81 0.93 1.00
BG3Lf800T500 34.3 1183 3.58 1.29 4.61 1.00 1.25
BG4Lf400T500 28.4 796 2.58 1.18 3.03 0.83 0.84
BG4Lf600T500 32.4 939 3.10 1.21 3.74 0.95 0.99
BG4Lf800T500 34.9 1169 3.49 1.30 4.53 1.02 1.23
Group Specimen Stiffness, kN/mm Toughness, kN.mm DF SF PF STF TF
4 BG0Lf0T750 18.5 419 2.21 1.13 2.49 0.54 0.44
BG0Lf400T750 19.7 535 2.53 1.14 2.89 0.57 0.57
BG0Lf600T750 22.5 602 2.91 1.20 3.49 0.66 0.64
BG0Lf800T750 24.1 733 3.24 1.25 4.05 0.70 0.77
BG2Lf400T750 20.8 540 2.43 1.16 2.81 0.61 0.57
BG2Lf600T750 23.8 641 2.92 1.20 3.50 0.69 0.68
BG2Lf800T750 25.5 763 3.20 1.26 4.02 0.74 0.81
BG3Lf400T750 21.0 566 2.50 1.16 2.90 0.61 0.60
BG3Lf600T750 23.9 659 2.98 1.19 3.55 0.70 0.70
BG3Lf800T750 25.6 790 3.27 1.27 4.15 0.75 0.83
BG4Lf400T750 21.1 611 2.64 1.17 3.09 0.61 0.65
BG4Lf600T750 24.1 708 3.13 1.20 3.78 0.70 0.75
BG4Lf800T750 25.9 839 3.41 1.29 4.39 0.75 0.89

Note: SF: strength factor, DF: Ductility factor, PF: Performance factor = SF×DF, STF: Stiffness factor, TF: Toughness factor

CFRP length. For the beams reinforced externally with CFRP sheet, using of CFRP length of 600 mm and 800 mm decreased the
profitability index by 28% and 42%, respectively (Fig. 15) concerning beams strengthened with 400 mm CFRP length. For the beams
reinforced with grooved CFRP sheet, integration of two, three, and four transverse grooves improved the profitability index by 5%,
12%, and 29%, respectively (Fig. 15) concerning beams without transverse grooves. The average elastic stiffness reduction percentage
(Fig. 15) for tested beams with respect to beams exposed to 23 ◦ C is 8%, 33%, and 50% for 250 ◦ C, 500 ◦ C, and 750 ◦ C, respectively.

3.9. Effect of elevated temperature extent on load capacity

As evaluated in accordance with the decrease in concrete’s compressive strength, the escalated temperature extent has been
graphically plotted versus each of the CFRP contributions in flexural (PF), the ultimate capacity (Pu), and the concrete contribution in
flexural (Control beam) (Pc), as in Fig. 16. The reason for the parabolic trend behavior of ultimate capacity is the contribution of

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

Fig. 14. The normalized characteristic factor for various beams.

Fig. 15. Profitability index of CFRP strips.

concrete strength (Pc), as the CFRP contribution (PF) shows, nearly the same tend as (Pc) and the ultimate capacity (Pu). Furthermore,
the parabolic trend behavior of PF reflected degradation in the bond between CFRP composites and elevated temperature deteriorating
concrete. Several factors of reduction have been introduced by the ACI440-08 code [29] to investigate the way the changing degra­
dation levels of the environment influence the behavior of CFRP composites upon designing for rehabilitation. This code has specified
certain percentages for the reduction factors of CFRP composites, as follows: (0–5%) for interior exposure, (5–15%) for exterior
exposure, and (15–50%) for the aggressive environment. The results of Fig. 16 indicates that the reduction factors in the contribution
of Pu, Pc, and PF for beams exposed to a temperature less than 120 ◦ C is range from 0% to 5% (interior exposure). The damage level in

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

Fig. 16. Ultimate load, control beam failure load, and CFRP composites contribution versus heat damage.

the contribution of CFRP composite to capacity is exterior exposure for beams exposed to a temperature ranging from 120 ◦ C to 520 ◦ C
and aggressive environment for beams exposed to temperature more than 520 ◦ C. Also, the damage level in the ultimate capacity is
exterior exposure for beams exposed to a temperature ranging from 120 ◦ C to 480 ◦ C and an aggressive environment for beams
exposed to temperatures more than 480 ◦ C. In contrast, the damage level in the contribution of concrete to capacity is exterior
exposure for beams exposed to a temperature ranging from 120 ◦ C to 440 ◦ C and an aggressive environment for beams exposed to
temperatures more than 400 ◦ C. Since the obtained results are in agreement with those of ACI 440-08 [29], the received data, shown in
Fig. 16, can be used to assist the rehabilitation engineers to design, in an efficient way, schemes of rehabilitation of the heat-damaged
of beams, using CFRP composites with transverse grooves.

Fig. 17. Typical load versus CFRP strain.

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

3.10. CFRP tensile strain

Fig. 17 shows the typical load-CFRP strain curve for all tested beams. Referring to Fig. 17, it is noticed that the creation of flexural
cracks leads to tensile stresses in the CFRP composites. The load-CFRP strain curve can be split into two sections: the first section is
where the produced beam stresses are within the domain of elasticity because of the negligence of the strain in the CFRP sheet. The
second section of the curve shows that a slight increase in the load results in a rapid, sharp increase in the CFRP-sheet’s strain. This kind
of increase occurs when flexural cracks appear and spread, concrete stops providing resistance, leaving this task solely to the sheet.
Further, ultimate tensile stresses have developed at almost the middle of the CFRP composite, intersecting the flexural cracks at mid-
span, as illustrated in Fig. 9. In the stage of pre-cracking, almost no CFRP strain is produced. When flexural cracks appeared in the mid-
span and the yielding of steel reinforcement, the strain of the CFRP rapidly and continuously increased till reaching the beam failure, as
depicted in Fig. 17. This indicates that CFRP reinforcement sheets must be intensively located at the mid-span of the beam to attain the
best-quality strengthening system. The strain measurements showed that the beams reached flexural failure far before reaching the
CFRP sheet’s ultimate tensile strain capacity. That finding was assured by the noticed failure in which the CFRP sheet stayed un­
stressed. It is noticed that all tested beams had CFRP strain below the maximum value of 17000με as shown in Table 1 as a percentage
of CFRP ultimate strain. Inspection of Table 1 reveals that the groove technique had a significant impact on the efficiency percentages
of the CFRP sheet in which the εCFRP/εfu (%) of 17%, 23%, and 30% for CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm, respectively,
with an average percentage of 23%. While the use of CFRP composite as external flexural reinforcement with two, three, and four
transverse grooves had a percentage of 26%, 31%, and 42%, respectively, with an average percentage of 33%. This means that the
tensile forces, developed in the external CFRP composite with grooves, were transferred from the concrete, signaling a full composite.
Furthermore, external CFRP composites with grooves reached to a higher percentage of their ultimate value; therefore, they are more
cost-effective than external CFRP without grooves used for similar configuration.
Table 1 shows that elevated temperature had a moderate impact (compared to the effects of the groove system) on the efficiency
percentages of the external CFRP sheet. The percentage of beams exposed to 250 ◦ C with respect to the ultimate strain of CFRP sheet of
15%, 21%, and 28% for CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm, respectively, is equivalent to 0.91 of the beams strains exposed
to 23 ◦ C. Also, the percentage of beams exposed to 500 ◦ C with respect to the ultimate strain of CFRP sheet of 12%, 17%, and 23% for
CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm, respectively, and this equivalent to 0.74 of the beams strains exposed to 23 ◦ C. Finally,
the percentage of beams exposed to 750 ◦ C with a percentage with respect to the ultimate strain of CFRP sheet of 12%, 16%, and 21%
for CFRP length of 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm, respectively, and this equivalent to 0.70 of the beams strains exposed to 23 ◦ C.

4. Conclusions

Based on the results, the following conclusions are drawn:

1) The loads at which the beams experienced ductile flexural failure after debonding and spalling of concrete were different, reflecting
the flexural resistance provided by the CFRP sheet; the failure load was higher as the length of CFRP sheet increased.
2) This investigation indicated that bonding of CFRP strip with transverse grooves represents an acceptable technique for enhancing
the loading capacity of flexural-deficient reinforced and thermally damaged RC beams after considering the number of grooves and
the length of CFRP strip.
3) The use of a CFRP sheet as external reinforcement with at least three transverse grooves is very effective in increasing the strength,
serviceability, performance factor, stiffness factor, and toughness factor of reinforced concrete beams than the use of CFRP sheet as
external reinforcement without grooves.
4) Subjecting RC beams to elevated temperature had a major impact on its mechanical properties and structural behavior represented
in reduced flexural capacity and stiffness at a temperature of more than 500 ◦ C. It created extensive cracking in their concrete
without spalling.
5) Using 400 mm in length and 50 mm in width of external CFRP sheet with grooves showed more enhancement than using 400 mm
in length and 50 mm in width at the same location as externally bonded strips without grooves. The beams experienced flexural
failure way before reaching the CFRP strips’ ultimate strain capacity, indicating that for a beam with an external CFRP sheet with
grooves, the CFRP sheet can provide a much more significant contribution.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing in­
terests: Rajai Al Rousan reports article publishing charges was provided by Jordan University of Science and Technology. Rajai Al
Rousan reports a relationship with Jordan University of Science and Technology that includes: employment.

Acknowledgment

The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science
and Technology under Grant number 2021/5.

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R.Z. Al-Rousan and J.N. Al-Muhiedat Case Studies in Construction Materials 16 (2022) e00896

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