The shear failure modes of FRP strengthened concrete beams are quite different to those of the beams strengthened with steel stirrups. When the beams are externally wrapped with FRP composites, many beams fail in shear due to concrete crushing before the FRP reaches its rupture strain. In order to predict the shear strength of such beams, the effective strain of the FRP must be blown. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the performance of reinforced concrete beams externally wrapped with FRP composites and infernally reinforced with steel stirrups. The main parameters of the tests were FRP reinforcement ratio, the type of fiber material (carbon or glass) and configuration (continues sheets or strips). The experimentally observed effective strain of the FRP was compared with the strain calculated using a proposed method.