This study undertakes a comprehensive investigation of the shear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened by near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. Different strengthening configurations were employed by varying the length and inclination angle of the CFRP laminates. Results indicated that NSM‐CFRP strengthening increased the load‐carrying capacity, ductility, stiffness, and toughness from 8% to 41%, 9% to 78%, 24% to 159%, and 22% to 254%, respectively. Results also confirmed that as the CFRP laminate length decreases, the efficacy of the strengthening process increases, where the load‐carrying capacity, ductility, stiffness, and toughness improved from 8% to 19%, 10% to 21%, 8% to 68%, and 26% to 119%, respectively. Also, the comparative results revealed that specimens strengthened with 45°‐inclined CFRP laminates versus those strengthened with vertical laminates had higher load‐carrying capacity (2%–10%), ductility (1%–35%), stiffness (24%–40%), and toughness (13%–32%). Two analytical formulations to predict the contribution of the possible distinct NSM‐CFRP shear strengthening configurations for the shear resistance of RC beams were considered. Results indicated an agreement between the experimental and the analytical results for both formulas, where the average values for the safety factor, k, were 0.80 and 0.73, with corresponding values of standard deviation of 0.195 and 0.125, respectively.

This paper is concerned with the behaviour of stainless steel reinforcing bar following exposure to elevated temperatures from a fire, followed by subsequent cooling. Stainless steel-reinforced concrete is an increasingly popular solution for structural applications which require corrosion resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and long life cycles with little maintenance. In addition, although stainless steel reinforcement has a higher initial cost compared with traditional carbon steel bars, the overall life cycle costs are likely to be quite similar, owing to the lack of maintenance required for stainless steel materials. There is no information available in the literature on the post-fire properties of austenitic stainless steel reinforcement, although these data are essential for any engineer who wishes to study the structural integrity of a reinforced concrete component or system following a fire. Accordingly, this paper presents a detailed discussion and analysis from the results of a series of laboratory experiments on three grades of austenitic stainless steel reinforcement following various levels of temperature exposure and also different cooling rates. Both the mechanical and metallurgical properties are examined, and the behaviour is compared to that of B500B carbon steel reinforcement. It is shown that the stainless steel bars retained their mechanical properties under the majority of the scenarios examined and to a greater degree than traditional materials. This is important for the rehabilitation and salvage of existing reinforced concrete structures following a fire and also to avoid unnecessary demolition and replacement.