Rehabilitation and Strengthening Techniques for Reinforced Concrete

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to announce a topic of MDPI focused on Rehabilitation and Strengthening Techniques for Reinforced Concrete. Reinforced concrete structures, while durable, are susceptible to deterioration over time due to various factors such as aging, environmental exposure, and overloading. This topic aims to gather innovative research and practical applications that address these challenges. We invite submissions on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following:

• Material and structural assessment of deteriorating reinforced concrete elements;
• Advanced repair techniques using novel materials and methods;
• Strengthening strategies for improving the load-carrying capacity and durability of existing structures;
• Seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete buildings;
• Durability enhancement through protective coatings and treatments;
• Life-cycle assessment of rehabilitation and strengthening interventions.

By bringing together the expertise of researchers, engineers, and practitioners from around the world, we aim to promote the development of sustainable and effective solutions for the rehabilitation and strengthening of reinforced concrete structures.

Prof. Dr. Firas Al Mahmoud
Prof. Dr. George Wardeh
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Buildings buildings	3.1	4.4	2011	14.9 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Construction Materials constrmater	-	3.1	2021	18.6 Days	CHF 1200	Submit
Crystals crystals	2.4	5.0	2011	12.7 Days	CHF 2100	Submit
Materials materials	3.2	6.4	2008	15.2 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Solids solids	2.4	4.5	2020	22.6 Days	CHF 1200	Submit
Infrastructures infrastructures	2.9	6.0	2016	15.7 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
CivilEng civileng	2.0	4.0	2020	27 Days	CHF 1400	Submit

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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All Buildings Construction Materials Crystals Materials Solids Infrastructures CivilEng

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23 pages, 8767 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Shear Performance of RC Deep Beams Strengthened with Engineered Cementitious Composites

by Hamsavathi Kannan, Sathish Kumar Veerappan and Madappa V. R. Sivasubramanian

Constr. Mater. 2025, 5(3), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/constrmater5030051 (registering DOI) - 31 Jul 2025

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams constructed with low-strength concrete are susceptible to sudden splitting failures in the strut region due to shear–compression stresses. To mitigate this vulnerability, various strengthening techniques, including steel plates, fiber-reinforced polymer sheets, and cementitious composites, have been explored to [...] Read more.

Reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams constructed with low-strength concrete are susceptible to sudden splitting failures in the strut region due to shear–compression stresses. To mitigate this vulnerability, various strengthening techniques, including steel plates, fiber-reinforced polymer sheets, and cementitious composites, have been explored to confine the strut area. This study investigates the structural performance of RC deep beams with low-strength concrete, strengthened externally using an Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) layer. To ensure effective confinement and uniform shear distribution, shear reinforcement was provided at equal intervals with configurations of zero, one, and two vertical shear reinforcements. Four-point bending tests revealed that the ECC layer significantly enhanced the shear capacity, increasing load-carrying capacity by 51.6%, 54.7%, and 46.7% for beams with zero, one, and two shear reinforcements, respectively. Failure analysis through non-linear finite element modeling corroborated experimental observations, confirming shear–compression failure characterized by damage in the concrete struts. The strut-and-tie method, modified to incorporate the tensile strength of ECC and shear reinforcement actual stress values taken from the FE analysis, was used to predict the shear capacity. The predicted values were within 10% of the experimental results, underscoring the reliability of the analytical approach. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of ECC in improving shear performance and mitigating strut failure in RC deep beams made with low-strength concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Rehabilitation and Strengthening Techniques for Reinforced Concrete)

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