Abstract
Structural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structural elements has become essential due to several reasons, namely, (i) to meet the up-gradation of existing structures due to the infrastructure development (ii) excessive deflection, cracking, inadequate ultimate strength (iii) to carry higher permissible loads (iv) design faults (v) poor construction practices (vi) poor durability etc. Sometimes, structures/components may be subjected to overloads, which will cause more cracking and reduction in stiffness/strength. There are several popular techniques, namely, externally bonded steel plates, concrete jacketing, fibre reinforced laminates or sheets, external prestressing/external bar reinforcement technique are available to address repair and retrofitting of RC structural components. Recently, cementitious based material, namely, ultra high strength concrete or ultra high performance concrete is being used as strengthening material. Each technique/retrofit material has its own