Experimental study on flexural behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP/SMA composites

•1Flexural experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP/SMA composites.•The recovery effect of SMA wires could effectively close the existing cracks and improve the mechanical behavior of strengthened beams.•Both the flexural capacity and stiffness of the beam strengthened with the FRP/SMA composites were significantly improved.•An iterative method for calculating the recovery stress of SMA wires for reinforcement was proposed and incorporated with finite element method for simulation.