## 7 Concluding Remarks  
The efficacy of the application of C-FRP poses an externally mounted reinforcement for the strengthening of the RC columns and the connection part of the columns with the beams is experimentally studied with real-scale specimens. The strengthening approach can easily be applied even in structures with complicated configuration without any restraints due to the structural geometry. The application of the C-FRP poses does not change the mass of the structure and, consequently, the dynamic characteristics of the building remain the same.  
From the comparative examination of the strengthened specimen with the specimen without strengthening (pilot specimen) the following conclusions are made:  
* Both specimens are tested under the same cyclic loading procedure that comprises seven steps and each step includes three full loading cycles. The maximum loads of the strengthened specimen at the three loading cycles of the seventh step were 40%, 72%, and 87% higher than the corresponding ones of the unstrengthened specimen.
* From the observed dissipated energy of the tested specimens, it is apparent that the energy dissipating capacity of the pilot specimen is lower than the capacity of the strengthened specimen.
* The systematic comparative study of the shear deformation of the connection panel of the tested specimens proved that the externally applied X-shaped C-FRP ropes kept the column and the connection panel intact and substantially reduced its shear deformations even in high drifts. The measured shear deformations of the joint panel of the pilot (unstrengthened) specimen at the sixth and the seventh steps were 43% and 44% higher than the corresponding ones of the strengthened specimen.
* Finally, it is emphasized that measured shear deformations of the joint panel and the strain gauge measurements have substantiated that the column and the connection panel of the strengthened specimen remained almost intact, whereas damage and eventually failure have been located in the column and the joint panel of the pilot specimen.  
Figure 16: Absolute values of the maximum shear deformations of the joint panel of the tested specimens per loading step and drift. It is apparent that the maximum shear deformations of the connection panel of the strengthened specimen JCOVF2X2c are lower than the ones of the pilot specimen JCOV without strengthening.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, C.K. and E.G.; methodology, C.K. and E.G.; validation C.K. and E.G.; formal analysis, C.K. and E.G.; investigation, C.K. and E.G.; resources, E.G.; data curation, E.G.; writing--original draft preparation, C.K.; writing--review and editing, C.K.; visualization, E.G.; supervision, C.K.; project administration, C.K.; funding acquisition, E.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** Data available on request.  
**Acknowledgments:** We would like to thank the company SIKA HELLAS SA for the supply and free disposal of the needed FRP materials.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.