Experimental Study of Prestressed Steel Wire Rope-Composite Mortar for Flexural Strengthening of RC Beams

This paper proposes a new method for strengthening structures using prestressed steel wire rope-composite mortar. Firstly, the flexural performance test was conducted on reinforced concrete rectangular beams using composite mortar and prestressed steel wire rope. The test included one reference beam and four reinforced beams. The different arrangements of steel wire ropes and the influence of composite mortar on the flexural performance of the beams were analyzed. ANSYS finite element analysis software was used to perform nonlinear numerical simulations of the reinforced and unreinforced beams, and the results of the finite element modeling were compared with the test results to verify the reliability of the experimental findings. By comparing and analyzing the data of deflection, strain, and other parameters before and after strengthening, it was found that the prestressed steel wire rope strengthening method can significantly improve the load-carrying capacity of the existing bridge, greatly improve the structural performance, and have a good effect on resisting cracking in the reinforced concrete beams. The composite mortar can extend the service life of the prestressed steel wire rope and has excellent durability.