Effect of releasing pretension for RC beams bonded with prestressed FRP strip

In this paper, the effect of releasing pretension is theoretically and experimentally investigated for flexural members externally bonded with prestressed FRP laminate or near-surface-mounted with prestressed FRP plate or rod. The stresses of FRP on the interface and at cross sections of a beam are analyzed on the basis of linear elastic theory. The expressions are derived for effective prestress, prestress loss and camber at the midspan of the beam. Tests are performed on two reinforced concrete beams bonded with prestressed GFRP plate. The comparison between the analytical and the measured results shows the analyses in this paper are rational and correct.