The failure of beams and columns plays a vital role in transferring the loads and pressure on a structure to the foundations thus deteriorated or existing columns and beams should be strengthened or retrofitted using external confinements. The feasibility of using wire mesh-flexible cementitious polymer composite as a strengthening technique for RC beams was examined in this study. A commercially available flexible polymer type and 3 mm wire mesh were used as materials and, three strengthening approaches were obtained by varying the number of steel mesh layers to identify the effective strengthening method. The beam specimens were 150mm×150mm×600mm in size, were reinforced with four 8 mm longitudinal bars, and laterally reinforced using 6 mm diameter steel bars. A total of four types were used, particularly control (without additional strengthening), one layer, two layers, and three layers of wire mesh with polymer coating on the tensile face of beams. Four-point bending test was used to investigate the flexural characteristics of concrete beam specimens according to ASTM C293. All specimens were tested at ambient temperature having the same curing process for all the specimens until a specific age. Time, load, and deflection were recorded during the testing. In order to examine the feasibility of the strengthening technique, maximum stress, strain at maximum stress, energy at design stress, energy at failure, and crack patterns were observed and compared.

The mechanical properties (Strain and stress capacities) of reinforced concrete beams were significantly improved by increasing the number of wire mesh. The results revealed that a single layer increased stress by 66.28% when compared to the control, while three layers were the most effective, resulting in maximum stress of 19.33 Mpa with a 121.67% enhancement. The study revealed that adding a single layer raised strain by 67%, while adding two and three layers increased strain by 165% and 194%, respectively, as compared to control specimens. Layering enhanced the energy at the failure of specimens. The energy at failure of the control specimens was 15.20 MJ/m³, while single layer raised it by 2.53, double layers by 4.83 times, and three layers by 5.59 times. Layering was discovered to improve specimen energy at design stress.The energy at design stress of the control specimens was 1.85 MJ/m³, but single layer increased it 3.93 times, two layers 4.08 times, and three layers 5.59 times. The polymer composite enhanced load distribution and the bonding between the wire mesh and the specimen, while the wire mesh provided additional support. Improved energy absorption and deformation capacity from the combination of these two materials resulted in shear cracks rather than flexural tension cracks in beams. This method will be a cost-effective method with simple techniques, less expertise, and less equipment. These findings have significant implications for the construction industry, indicating that wire mesh–flexible cementitious polymer composite can be a cost-effective and efficient technique to improve the mechanical properties of RC beams.