This paper innovatively employs an epoxy-free composite layer with basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) and engineered cementitious composite (ECC) to reinforce the two-way concrete slab structure. Five strengthened slabs and one reference slab were tested under biaxial bending moments with four-side simply supported conditions. The thickness of ECC (15, 25, 35 mm) and BFRP grid (1, 2, 3 mm) were selected as two main variables in the test program. The experimental results showed that the cracking and ultimate load of the strengthened slabs were substantially improved. Notably, the cracking pattern was shifted from diagonally concentrated cracks to discontinuous short cracks, with no apparent debonding of the composite layer. As the thickness of the BFRP grid and ECC increases, both the flexural capacity and stiffness improve, with decrease in the maximum deflection and effective utilization rate of steel reinforcement and BFRP grid at mid-span. Furthermore, a theoretical model considering different positional distribution of yield line was proposed to predict the bearing capacity of the strengthened slabs, with the calculated values aligned well with the experimental results. This research highlights the FRP–ECC composite as a robust reinforcement method for two-way slabs, and offers a good design-oriented reference basis in the field.
Xue et al. (Wed,) studied this question.