6 In this paper, the mechanical performance of concrete beams strengthened by an impreg-7 nated Carbon Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (CFRCM) composite is investigated. 8 The study is aimed at the rehabilitation of the Finale Emilia hospital roofs, severely damaged 9 by the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake. A 8-m-long concrete beam could be taken from the 10 building for reinforcement and testing in a beam test setup. The composite is designed to be 11 externally applied to the existing

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... n clay tile layer bonded to the concrete beam intrados. 12 Two lamination cycles are considered, which differ in the way the partially-organic adhesion 13 promoter is applied to the fabric. It is found that impregnation thorough fabric immersion 14 provides a 1.5-fold increase in the ultimate strength of the strengthened beam compared 15 to expedited impregnation with a brush. Besides, clay tiles make a very good supporting 16 substrate, to the extent that cohesive fracture at the tile/concrete interface takes place on 17 the verge of concrete failure near the hinge zone. Conversely, expedited impregnation of 18 the carbon fabric with the adhesion promoter is unable to provide adequate fabric/matrix 19 adhesion and leads to delamination failure. Estimates of the adhesion strength, of the opti-20 mal bonded length and of the composite as well as of the concrete strain at failure are also 21 provided.