This SP is the result of two technical sessions held during the 2017 ACI Spring Convention in Detroit, MI. Via presentations and the resulting collection of papers, it was the intention of the sponsoring committees (ACI Committees 549 and 562 together with Rilem TC 250) to bring to the attention of the technical community the progress being made on a new class of repair/strengthening materials for concrete and masonry structures. These materials are characterized by a cementitious matrix made of hydraulic or lime-based binders, which embeds reinforcement in the form of one or more fabrics also known as textiles. The great variability of fabric architectures (for example, cross sectional area, strand spacing, and fiber impregnation with organic resin) coupled with the types of material used (aramid, basalt, carbon, glass, polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) and coated ultra-high strength steel) makes the characterization, validation, and design of these systems rather challenging. Irrespective of the reinforcement type (synthetic or ultra-high strength steel), the impregnating mortar is applied by trowel or spray-up. It should also be noted that fabric reinforced cementitious matrix and steel reinforced grout, in particular, are very different from other repair technologies such as FRC (fiber reinforced concrete) and UHPC (Ultra High-Performance Concrete) in that they utilize continuous and oriented reinforcement. In a sense FRCM and SRG can be viewed as the modern evolution of ferrocement.

In this study, the behavior of concrete compressive members confined by steel reinforced grout (SRG) is investigated. An experimental study was carried out to understand the behavior of short concrete prisms with a square cross-section confined by SRG subjected to a monotonic concentric compressive load. Test parameters considered in this study are the density of steel fibers, number of layers, corner condition, number of overlapping faces, and length of the reinforcement. The effectiveness of the confinement is evaluated in terms of peak stress with respect to unconfined prisms. SRG confinement is shown to improve the compressive strength of concrete prisms relative to the unconfined condition. An increase in the number of confinement layers results in an increase in the compressive strength and energy absorption.

Repair and strengthening of concrete and masonry structures using fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) and streel-reinforced grout (SRG) are emerging technologies in the industry allowing engineers and contractors to effectively remove deficiencies, improve structural performance and prolong life of existing concrete or masonry structures. FRCM is a composite consisting of one or more layers of cement- or hydraulic-based matrix reinforced with dry fibers in the form of open fabric. Similarly, SRG consists of a matrix reinforced with cords of twisted micro steel wires woven to form a fabric (mesh). Acceptance Criteria AC434 was published to provide guidelines for the evaluation of FRCM/SRG strengthening of concrete and masonry structural elements because the building codes in the USA do not have requirements for testing and determination of structural capacity, reliability and serviceability of this class of composite technologies. AC434 establishes requirements for testing and calculations that can lead to the issuance of a product research reports as evidence of a product’s building code compliance. This paper summarizes and presents the key features of AC434 and its relationship to ACI committee 549.4R, the guide to design and construction of externally bonded FRCM and SRG systems for repair and strengthening concrete and masonry structures.

The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) strengthening systems for reinforced concrete (RC) members represents nowadays an effective alternative to traditional strengthening techniques. Recently, a new class of composites have emerged known as Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG), consisting of steel fibers embedded in an inorganic matrix and applied by using manual techniques and traditional handcraft. An experimental campaign was recently carried out that aims at assessing the performance and effectiveness of SRG strengthening systems to improve the flexural behavior of RC slabs. The present work uses the experimental results to validate the numerical prediction of a FEM code, developed by the authors, to analyze the flexural behavior of SRG-strengthened slabs. The cross-sectional response is obtained using a fiber-model equipped with a plasticity model for rebars, a continuumdamage model for SRG, and a plastic-damage model for concrete. Overall, the numerical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results. The model reproduces with acceptable accuracy the nonlinear behavior of the tested strengthened beams, as well as the failure point both in terms of failure modes and ultimate strength and displacement. In some cases, slight differences can be found between the numerical and experimental results. These differences are discussed in this work.

This paper presents the results of an experimental program carried out to study the behavior of brick masonry columns confined by steel reinforced grout (SRG) comprised of continuous steel fiber cords embedded in a cementitious matrix. Short brick masonry columns with a square cross-section confined by SRG jackets were subjected to a monotonic concentric compressive load. Parameters investigated in this study were the area weight of steel fibers and the masonry column corner radius. Results show that the SRG jackets increased the compressive strength of the masonry columns by 26-42% relative to the unconfined masonry columns. The compressive strength of the confined columns increased slightly with increasing corner radius ratio and with increasing fiber area weight.