ABSTRACT
The current European road network and concrete bridges in particular have suffered in the past few decades serious and increasing damages, due to e.g. insufficient maintenance, incorrect calculation assumptions, change in use, constructional mistakes, environmental influences, etc. As engineering structures are designed in planning and execution according to current regulations and state of the art, the maintenance of such structures constitutes a serious problem for engineers. Although the addition of new reinforced concrete layers is a common practice to increase the shear capacity of a structural element, the objective of the paper is the development, optimization and assessment of an innovative steel reinforcement in form of sheet, replacing common reinforcing bars. A preliminary investigation considering the material and geometrical parameters of such a reinforcement type is presented, through a series of numerical simulations and experimental tests.
