NUMERICAL STUDY OF PLATE STRENGTHENED DEEP RC COUPLING BEAMS WITH DYNAMIC SET ANCHORS

Coupling beam is an important member that has great influences on the behavior of coupled shear-wall structures under lateral loads. In conjunction with the society and economic development, more and more old reinforced concrete structures need to be strengthened, retrofitted, refurbished or rehabilitated to satisfy the modern requirements. This research aims to study the use of steel plates to strengthen deep RC coupling beams with dynamic set anchors. The numerical model developed for the nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) is validated by the previous experimental results. Parametric study is then conducted to investigate the effects of varying thicknesses of steel plates and bolt group arrangements on the load-rotation behaviors of the strengthened beams. A set of design recommendations has been developed for strengthening deep RC coupling beams by attachment with steel plates using dynamic set anchors.