International Journal of Engineering and Science Applications ISSN: 2406-9833 IJEScA vol.3, 2, November 2016 185 IJEScA Shear Capacity of RC Beams Retrofitted A. Amiruddin 1 , A. B. Muhidin 1 , R. Karamma 1 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Indonesia Correspondence: A. A. Amiruddin, Department of Civil Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Jalan Poros Malino, Gowa, Indonesia. Tel: (+62)-0411-587636. E-mail: a.arwinamiruddin@yahoo.com ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of retrofit on shear capacity; cracks; and failure modes of beams. Four concrete beams reinforced internally with steel and externally with both wire mesh (Ø4,06mm) and SCC (2.5mm) applied to the specimens were tested under three-point bending. The shear failure is initiated by a major diagonal crack within the beam shear span. This diagonal crack extended horizontally at the level of the wire mesh. Results show that SCC with wire mesh is very effective for shear strengthening. Increases in strength of 71.82% for BWS over the BN as control, un-retrofitted beams were noted. Keywords: Shear Capacity, Retrofit, RC beams, Wire Mesh, SCC. Article history: Received 5 January 2017, last received in revised 11 February 2017 1. INTRODUCTION Shear failure is one of primary modes of failure in reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Shear failure is brittle in nature and does not allow substantial redistribution of loads; thus, shear failure occurs without any prior warning and is often catastrophic. Poorly designed beams may fail in shear before reaching the flexural strengths. Hence, RC beams must have sufficient shear strength, higher than flexural strength, in order to ensure a ductile failure mode. Shear failure of RC structures may be due to many factors, e.g., insufficient shear reinforcement, reduction of steel area due to corrosion and spalling of concrete caused by aggressive environmental conditions, increased service load due to change in usage of the structure, and any detailing, design, and/or construction error. Thus, strengthening and rehabilitation of RC structures may be needed to increase the ultimate load carrying capacity of shear- deficient beams. Structures that are deficient in shear can be strengthened or repaired by using various methods, e.g., external prestressing, shortcreting, polymer impregnation, steel plate bonding [1]. Among these retrofit solutions, the use of externally bonded fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) is becoming more frequently used and widely recognized by modern design codes and guidelines [2, 3]. However, in this paper, a new technique for seismic strengthening of RC beams is presented. Beams in existing structures are externally reinforced by means of high-strength wire mesh. The reinforcement is performed by wrapping wire mesh and self-compacting concrete (SCC) around the beams. This method has numerous advantages compared to other more traditional techniques, e.g., light weight and ease of installation, high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness to weight ratio, and corrosion resistance. However, the accurate prediction of the shear strength of wire mesh-SCC-retrofitted beams is a complex task.