## 5 Conclusions  
In this study, a new retrofitting scheme involving flange-bonded CFRP was investigated via numerical and experimental investigations of RC beam-column joints. First, the FE method was employed for our numerical study. To ensure the experimental testing setup accorded with real structural conditions under actual loading, a constant load was applied to the top of the column, thus reflecting the dead load on the column of the RC frame. Meanwhile, a couple of forces were incrementally applied at the end of the beams via two jacks to generate a double curvature action in the beam-column joint, which would occur during the application of vertical and lateral loads to the frame. Since the primary goal of this research was to relocate the plastic hinges from the column face to a greater length along the beam, the results of the experimental tests and numerical analyses demonstrate that the proposed retrofitting scheme successfully achieves this objective. By employing this retrofitting approach, plastic hinges are now observed at a considerable distance from the column faces. This significantly enhances the safety and security of the beam-column joint when the structure is subjected to seismic excitations, ultimately ensuring the stability and integrity of the structure. However, the most important experimental and numerical model findings can be summarized as follows.  
Experiments and numerical results show that under static loads under a moderate-ductility RC, beam plastic hinges may be present near the column face. Thus, the flange-bonded scheme in this study is practical and can be used in actual 3D frames as it takes the presence of the cross beams into consideration and accounts for the integrated floor slabs.  
1. The experimental configuration suggested a significant rise in the connection's ultimate strength (26%).
2. Inelastic deformations took place 300 mm to 400 mm off the column, meaning the required relocation has been achieved.
3. Five CFRP layers were considered as the ideal thickness for successful plastic hinge relocation.
4. Higher numbers of CFRP layers would also lead to such a relocation, and the retrofitting would then be more expensive.
5. The experimental and numerical results confirmed the effectiveness of the suggested grooving method. It is believed that the flange-bonded CFRP retrofitting improves the capacity of the joints. This proved its ability to send the possible plastic hinge off the joint and further into the beam, leading to a ductility increase and an improvement of the overall RC frame performance.
* Finally, the results of the successfully conducted experiments and numerical testing indicate that under the condition of seismic loading in a moderate-ductility-reinforced concrete-moment-resisting frame, beam plastic hinges might materialize near the column face.  
Conceptualization, F.H., R.A. and A.A.F.; Methodology, F.H., R.A. and A.A.F.; Software, R.A. and A.A.F.; Formal analysis, R.A. and A.A.F.; Investigation, R.A. and A.A.F.; Resources, F.H.; Data curation, R.A. and A.A.F.; Writing--original draft, R.A. and A.A.F.; Writing--review and editing, F.H.; Visualization, R.A. and A.A.F.; Supervision, F.H.; Project administration, F.H.; Funding acquisition, F.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
Not applicable.  
All new data created through this study are already included in this paper. Therefore, data sharing is not applicable to this article.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.