• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.105-120
• /
• 2011

The strengthening and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures with externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates has shown excellent performance and, as a result, this technology is rapidly replacing steel plate bonding techniques. This paper addresses this issue, and presents results deals with the influence of external bonded CFRP-reinforcement on the time-dependent behavior of reinforced concrete beams. A total of eight reinforced concrete beams with cracked and un-cracked section, with and without externally bonded CFRP laminates, were investigated for their creep and shrinkage behavior. All the beams considered in this paper were simply supported and subjected to a uniform sustained loading for the period of six months. The main parameters of this study are two types of sustained load and different degrees of strengthening scheme for both cracked and un-cracked sections of beams. Both analytical and experimental work has been carried out on strengthened beams to investigate the cracking and deflection performance. The applied sustained load was 56% and 38% of the ultimate static capacities of the un-strengthened beams for cracked and un-cracked section respectively. The analytical values based on effective modulus method (EMM) are compared to the experimental results and it is found that the analytical values are in general give conservative estimates of the experimental results. It was concluded that the attachment of CFRP composite laminates has a positive influence on the long term performance of strengthened beams.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.3A
• /
• pp.349-356
• /
• 2008

Recently FRP (Fiber Reinforcement Polymer) is widely used for the strengthening of damaged RC beams. Although many tests were carried out to verify flexural capacity of RC beams strengthened with FRP sheet or plate, the behavior of strengthened RC beams has not yet clearly verified. To investigate the strengthening efficiency of the Near Surface Mounted Reinforcement (NSMR) technique experimentally and analytically, a total of 7 specimens have been tested. The experimental results revealed that specimens strengthened with NSMR improved the flexural capacity of RC beams. Also, while the NSMR specimens utilized CFRP reinforcement efficiently compared to the EBR (Externally Bonded Reinforcement) specimen, the NSMR specimens still have debonding failure between epoxy and concrete interface. This study has proposed the model to predict failure modes and failure loads. Good agreement was obtained between the predicted and the experimental results.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.171-183
• /
• 2017

Strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams with openings by using aramid fiber reinforcement polymers (AFRP) on the beams' surfaces offers a useful solution for upgrading concrete structures to carry heavy loads. This paper presents a repairing technique of the AFRP sheets that effectively strengthens RC beams, controls both the failure modes and the stress distribution around the beam chords and enhances the serviceability (deflection produced under working loads be sufficiently small and cracking be controlled) of pre-cracked RC beams with openings. To investigate the possible damage that was caused by the service load and to simulate the structure behavior in the site, a comprehensive experimental study was performed. Two unstrengthened control beams, four beams that were pre-cracked before the application of the AFRP sheets and one beam that was strengthened without pre-cracking were tested. Cracking was first induced, followed by repair using various orientations of AFRP sheets, and then the beams were tested to failure. This load was kept constant during the strengthening process. The results show that both the preexisting damage level and the FRP orientation have a significant effect on strengthening effectiveness and failure mode. All of the strengthened specimens exhibited higher capacities with capacity enhancements ranging from 21.8 to 66.4%, and the crack width reduced by 25.6-82.7% at failure load compared to the control beam. Finally, the authors present a comparison between the experimental results and the predictions using the ACI 440.2R-08 guidelines.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.561-584
• /
• 2006

The paper presents results of parametric studies, and an overall approach for the design of a modular bridge system which incorporates a steel-reinforcement free concrete slab cast on top of carbon FRP stiffened deck panels which act as both structural formwork and flexural reinforcement, spanning between hollow box type FRP girders. Results of the parametric studies are highlighted to elucidate important relationships between critical configurational parameters and empirical equations based on numerical studies are presented. Results are discussed at the level of the individual deck and girder components, and as a slab-on-girder bridge system. An overall design methodology for the components and bridge system including critical performance checks is also presented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.75-90
• /
• 2002

Many existing concrete structures suffer from low quality of concrete and inadequate confinement reinforcement. These deficiencies cause low strength and ductility. Wrapping concrete by carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite sheets enhances compressive strength and deformability. In this study, the effects of the thickness of the CFRP composite wraps on the behavior of concrete are investigated experimentally. Both monotonic and repeated compressive loads are considered during the tests, which are carried out on strengthened undamaged specimens, as well as the specimens, which were tested and damaged priorly and strengthened after repairing. The experimental data shows that, external confinement of concrete by CFRP composite sheets improves both compressive strength and deformability of concrete significantly as a function of the thickness of the CFRP composite wraps around concrete. Empirical equations are also proposed for compressive strength and ultimate axial deformation of FRP composite wrapped concrete. Test results available in the literature, as well as the experimental results presented in this paper, are compared with the analytical results predicted by the proposed equations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.781-794
• /
• 2023

In order to directly apply seawater and sea sand in construction without desalination, a type of square concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) encased with prefabricated seawater sea-sand concrete filled Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)/Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) tube column was proposed. Twenty short columns were tested under uniaxial loads, and the test parameters included inner tube types, seawater sea-sand concrete replacement ratios, concrete strength, the wrapping area of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips and the thickness of GFRP tube. The effects of the parameters on failure modes, loading capacity, ductility and strain responses were discussed. All the tested specimens failed with serious buckling of the steel tubes and fracture of the inner tubes. The specimens had good residual bearing capacity corresponding to 64% to 88.9% of the peak capacity. The inner GFRP tubes and PVC tubes wrapped by CFRP strips provided stronger confinement to the core concrete, and were good choices for the proposed columns. Moreover, an analytical model for the composite column with different inner tube types was proposed.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.119-134
• /
• 2007

External bonding of steel or FRP plates to reinforced concrete (RC) structures has been a popular method for strengthening RC structures; however, unexpected premature failure often occurs due to debonding between the concrete and the epoxy. We proposed a Coulomb criterion with a constant failure surface as the debonding failure criterion for the concrete-epoxy interface. Diagonal shear bonding tests were conducted to determine the debonding properties that were related to the failure criterion, such as the angle of internal friction and the coefficient of cohesion. In addition, an interface element that utilized the Coulomb criterion was implemented in a nonlinear finite element analysis program to simulate debonding failure behavior. Experimental studies and numerical analysies on RC beams strengthened by an externally bonded steel or FRP plate were used to determine the range of the coefficient of cohesion. The results that were presented prove that premature failure loads of strengthened RC beams can be predicted with using the bonding properties and the finite element program with including the proposed Coulomb criterion.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2003

This paper summarizes the results of the fatigue test of four composite bridge decks in extreme temperatures (-30$^{\circ}C$ and 50$^{\circ}C$ ). The work was performed as part of a research program to evaluate and install multiple FRP bridge deck systems in Dayton, Ohio. A two-span continuous concrete deck was also built on three steel girders for the benchmark tests. Simulated wheel loads were applied simultaneously at two points by two servo-controlled hydraulic actuators specially designed and fabricated to perform under extreme temperatures. Each deck was initially subjected to one million wheel load cycles at low temperature and another one million cycles at high temperature. The results presented in this paper correspond to the fatigue response of each deck for four million load cycles at low temperature and another four million cycles at high temperature. Thus, the deck was subjected to a total of ten million cycles. Quasi-static load-deflection and load-strain responses were determined at predetermined fatigue cycle levels. Except for the progressive reduction in stiffness, no significant distress was observed in any of the composite deck prototypes during ten million load cycles. The effects of extreme temperatures and accumulated load cycles on the load-deflection and load-strain response of FRP composite and FRP-concrete hybrid bridge decks are discussed based on the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.13 no.5 s.57
• /
• pp.169-179
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to find an efficient heat source to amplify the surface temperature of damaged concrete structures for infrared thermography. we compare two different heat sources of far-infrared lamp and halogen lamp each other for their efficiency. The two heat sources were applied to the concrete specimens. Two different concrete specimens were used: one was the concrete containing internal void and the other was wrapped with partially unbonded fiber reinforced polymer sheet. it was found that the far-infrared lamp was more efficient than the halogen lamp. In addition, we propose a new algorithm to make the damage zone displayed clear in the image obtained from the thermographic operation. The algorithm is a combination of Gauss filtering process and the Prewitt mask operation.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2008

This study is to examine bond strength of beam reinforced with GFRP rebar under 4-point fatigue bending test by adopting BRITISH STANDARD. The variables were made to have bonding length of 5times(5db), and 15times(15db) of the nominal diameter of GFRP rebar and were done to analyze the relationship between the bonding strength and the slip. In the result of the test, pull-out failure was dominant in the 5db specimen, patterns of the pull-out failure and concrete shear failure appeared in the 15db specimen showed only concrete shear failure at the end of bonding length. Therefore, The strain development consist of three different stage : A rapid increases form 0 to about 10% of total fatigue life. A uniform increases form 10% to about 70%~90%. Then a rapid increases until failure, if failure takes place. It seems that stress level has not influence on the secant modules of elasticity. And also according to the outcome the existing strengthening method came out to be the most superiority in S-N graphs.