Strengthening Concrete Structures with Smart Materials

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Deterioration of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures is a never-ending problem that incites civil engineers around the world to seek innovative durable strengthening techniques and high performance advanced materials. Recently, a new class of smart materials called Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) has been attracting the attention of researchers from different fields due to their superior properties. The SMA is a unique class of alloy with the ability to undergo large deformations and return to its original shape through stress removal. Besides their super-elasticity, corrosion and fatigue resistivity, SMAs are mainly characterized by the Shape Memory Effect (SME) phenomenon that is inherited through their unique thermo-mechanical properties. The SME represents the ability of the SMAs to recover their original shape after being deformed beyond the elastic limits upon heating. SMAs with the SME property can be used as external prestressed reinforcement by providing active strengthening to RC members.