Near Surface Mounted Technique

Since the first structures were formed, they have been plagued by deterioration and destruction. Strengthening has become the acceptable way of improving service life and durability of such structures. A strengthened structure that fulfills all demand of load carrying capacity might not satisfy demand for durability and aesthetic appearance. Hence Fiber-reinforced polymer materials are used in different configuration and techniques for strengthening of Reinforced concrete elements. Near surface mounted (NSM) method has recently emerged as a promising technology for strengthening, that consists of placing FRP reinforcing bars for flexural and shear strengthening of deficient RC member in terms of load, moment, deflection, crack patterns. The reinforcement is embedded in grooves cut onto the surface of the member to be strengthened and filled with appropriate binding agent such as epoxy paste. This technique has numerous potential advantages over externally bonded FRP strengtheningsystems, and is able to fully employ the strength of FRP materials because of superior bond performance.Thus use of NSM technique is strongly recommended for retrofitting of elements especially beams.