Flexural strengthening of timber beams by traditional and innovative techniques

This work presents experimental analyses for validating various strengthening techniques applied to historic timber floors using traditional and/or innovative materials (FRP, fibre reinforced polymer). The traditional method proposed here consists of placing reinforcing planks above the existing floor beams and fixing them with 'dry' connections by means of wooden dowels. As an innovative technique, strengthening with wet lay-up carbon FRP laminates (CFRP) applied at the underside of the beams is examined, both as unique strengthening for floor beams and in combination with the above-mentioned traditional method on the composite structure. Results on the characterisation of the connections between materials ('dry' wooden dowels and FRP bond behaviour) and flexural tests on simple and mechanically jointed beams with or without CFRP strengthening are discussed. The main execution phases of the strengthening technique, and their limits and advantages, are also described.