• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.691-702
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• 2018

This paper presents experimental and analytical results of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) confined steel tubular columns under transverse impact loads. Influences of applied impact energy, thickness of FRP jacket and impact position were discussed in detail, and then the impact responses of FRP confined steel tubes were compared with bare steel tubes. The test results revealed that the FRP jacket contributes to prevent outward buckling deformation of steel at the clamped end and inward buckling of steel at the impact position. For the given applied impact energy, specimens wrapped with one layer and three layers of FRP have the lower peak impact loads than those of the bare steel tubes, whereas specimens wrapped with five layers of FRP exhibit the higher peak impact loads. All the FRP confined steel tubular specimens displayed a longer duration time than the bare steel tubes under the same magnitude of impact energy, and the specimen wrapped with one layer of FRP had the longest duration time. In addition, increasing the applied impact energy leads to the increase of peak impact load and duration time, whereas increasing the distance of impact position from the clamped end results in the decrease of peak impact load and the increase of duration time. The dynamic analysis software Abaqus Explicit was used to simulate the mechanical behavior of FRP confined steel tubular columns, and the numerical results agreed well with the test data. Analytical solution for lateral displacement of an equivalent cantilever beam model subjected to impact load was derived out. Comparison of analytical and experimental results shows that the maximum displacement can be precisely predicted by the present theoretical model.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2008

Experimental study has been performed in order to construct the standard test methods and appraisal criteria by investigating the influence of specimen types(property, width, layers) and loading rate on the tensile characteristics of FRP used in strengthening RC structures. The FRP composite tested in this study are the unidirectional CFRP sheet/strip and the bidirectional GFRP sheet. Test variables consist of the various width ranging from 10mm to 25mm and number of CFRP sheets plied up to 5 layers. Test results indicated that maximum tensile strength and minimum coefficient of variation are recorded at each different width according to the fiber types and weaving directions. Also, the average tensile strengths of CFRP sheets are decreased as the number of layer of CFRP sheet are increased.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.219-235
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• 2022

Strengthening slender reinforced concrete (RC) columns is a challenge. They are susceptible to overall buckling that induces bending moment and axial compression. This study presents the precise three-dimensional finite element modeling of slender RC columns strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites sheets with various patterns under concentric or eccentric compression. The slenderness ratio λ (height/width ratio) of the studied columns ranged from 15 to 35. First, to determine the optimal modeling procedure, nine alternative nonlinear finite element models were presented to simulate the experimental behavior of seven FRP-strengthened slender RC columns under eccentric compression. The models simulated concrete behavior under compression and tension, FRP laminate sheets with different fiber orientations, crack propagation, FRP-concrete interface, and eccentric compression. Then, the validated modeling procedure was applied to simulate 58 FRP-strengthened slender RC columns under compression with minor eccentricity to represent the inevitable geometric imperfections. The simulated columns showed two cross sections (square and rectangular), variable λ values (15, 22, and 35), and four strengthening patterns for FRP sheet layers (hoop H, longitudinal L, partial longitudinal L_w, and longitudinal coupled with hoop LH). For λ=15-22, pattern L showed the highest strengthening effectiveness, pattern L_w showed brittle failure, steel reinforcement bars exhibited compressive yielding, ties exhibited tensile yielding, and concrete failed under compression. For λ>22, pattern L_w outperformed pattern L in terms of the strengthening effectiveness relative to equivalent weight of FRP layers, steel reinforcement bars exhibited crossover tensile strain, and concrete failed under tension. Patterns H and LH (compared with pattern L) showed minor strengthening effectiveness.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.201-218
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• 2018

In this study, the effects of magnesium sulfate on the mechanical performance and the durability of confined and unconfined geopolymer concrete (GPC) specimens were investigated. The carbon and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fabrics with 1-layer and 3-layers were used to evaluate the performances of the specimens under static and cyclic loading in the ambient and magnesium sulfate environments. In addition, the use of FRP materials as a rehabilitation technique was also studied. For the geopolymerization process of GPC specimens, the alkaline activator has selected a mixture of sodium silicate solution ($Na_2SiO_3$) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) with a ratio ($Na_2SiO_3/NaOH$) of 2.5. In addition to GPC specimens, an ordinary concrete (NC) specimens were also produced as a reference specimens and some of the GPC and NC specimens were immersed in 5% magnesium sulfate solutions. The mechanical performance and the durability of the specimens were evaluated by visual appearance, weight change, static and cyclic loading, and failure modes of the specimens under magnesium sulfate and ambient environments. In addition, the microscopic changes of the specimens due to sulfate attack were also assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the macroscale behavior of the specimens. Results indicated that geopolymer specimens produced with nano-silica and fly ash showed superior performance than the NC specimens in the sulfate environment. In addition, confined specimens with FRP fabrics significantly improved the compressive strength, ductility and durability resistance of the specimens and the improvement was found higher with the increased number of FRP layers. Specimens wrapped with carbon FRP fabrics showed better mechanical performance and durability properties than the specimens wrapped with basalt FRP fabrics. Both FRP materials can be used as a rehabilitation material in the sulfate environment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.727-745
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• 2005

The present study is an experimental investigation into the behaviour of high strength concrete square short columns subjected to biaxial bending moments and strengthened by GFRP laminates. The main objectives of the study are: to evaluate the improvement in the structural performance of HSC short square columns subjected to small biaxial eccentricity when strengthened by externally applied FRP laminates, and to investigate the optimum arrangement and amount of FRP laminates to achieve potential enhancement in structural performance especially ductility. The parameters considered in this study are: number of FRP layers and arrangement of wraps. The load eccentricity is kept corresponding to e/t = 0.125 in two perpendicular directions to the columns principal axes, and the wraps are applied in single or double layers (partial or full wrapping). In the present work, test results of five full scale concrete columns are presented and discussed. The study has shown that FRP wraps can be used successfully to enhance the ductility of HSC columns subjected to biaxial bending by 300%.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-46
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• 2010

As one of the methods for recycling the FRP used for the small and medium-sized waste ships, separation of the roving layer from the mat has some merit in a sense of the recycling energy and the environmental effects. Similar characteristics between the roving and the mat make the mechanically automatic differentiation difficult. They, however, contain different ratio of the resin and the glass and the thickness. In this study photo physical differentiation between the two layers has been made using (1) boiling concentrated sulfuric acid which can dissolve the resin in the FRP layer and (2) hydrogen fluoride(HF) solution which can reacts with $SiO_2$ fragments of the glass. Furthermore coloring the FRP sample with water-soluble dye following the HF treatment makes the roving layer more distinguishable photophysically. The implementation of HF treatment has been successfully tested in this study.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.583-593
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• 2017

Applications of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites for retrofitting, strengthening and repairing concrete structures have been expanded dramatically in the last decade. FRPs have high specific strength and stiffness compared to conventional construction materials, e.g., steel. Ease of preparation and installation, resistance to corrosion, versatile fabrication and adjustable mechanical properties are other advantages of the FRPs. However, there are major concerns about long-term performance, serviceability and durability of FRP applications in concrete structures. Therefore, structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection in FRP-retrofitted concrete structures need to be implemented. This paper presents a study on investigating the application of Rayleigh wave for detecting debonding defect in FRP-retrofitted concrete structures. A time-of-flight (ToF) method is proposed to determine the location of a debonding between the FRP and concrete using Rayleigh wave. A series of numerical case studies are carried out to demonstrate the capability of the proposed debonding detection method. In the numerical case studies, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model is developed to simulate the Rayleigh wave propagation and scattering at the debonding in the FRP-retrofitted concrete structure. Absorbing layers are employed in the 3D FE model to reduce computational cost in simulating the practical size of the FRP-retrofitted structure. Different debonding sizes and locations are considered in the case studies. The results show that the proposed ToF method is able to accurately determine the location of the debonding in the FRP-retrofitted concrete structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.3
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• pp.315-335
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• 2023

Limited studies are available on the mathematical estimates of the compressive strength (CS) of glass fiber-embedded polymer (glass-FRP) compressive elements. The present study has endeavored to estimate the CS of glass-FRP normal strength concrete (NSTC) compression elements (glass-FRP-NSTC) employing two various methodologies; mathematical modeling and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The dataset of 288 glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was constructed from the various testing investigations available in the literature. Diverse equations for CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements suggested in the previous research studies were evaluated employing the constructed dataset to examine their correctness. A new mathematical equation for the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was put forwarded employing the procedures of curve-fitting and general regression in MATLAB. The newly suggested ANN equation was calibrated for various hidden layers and neurons to secure the optimized estimates. The suggested equations reported a good correlation among themselves and presented precise estimates compared with the estimates of the equations available in the literature with R²= 0.769, and R² =0.9702 for the mathematical and ANN equations, respectively. The statistical comparison of diverse factors for the estimates of the projected equations also authenticated their high correctness for apprehending the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements. A broad parametric examination employing the projected ANN equation was also performed to examine the effect of diverse factors of the glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.235-248
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• 2006

This investigation presents an analysis procedure for simulating the compressive behavior of a rectangular concrete column confined by fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) under uniaxial load. That is, the entire stress-strain curve can be drawn through the present analysis procedure. The modified Mander's stress-strain model (Mander, et al. 1988) and finite element method are adopted in this analysis procedure. The numerical analysis results are compared with the experimental results to verify the accuracy of the analysis procedure. This study offers a useful analysis procedure of researching the compressive behavior of rectangular concrete columns confined by FRP. Two main parameters, the number of FRP layers and the radius of the round corners of a rectangular column, are investigated. The numerical results show that non-uniform stresses occur and reduce the sectional effective area owing to the geometry of the confined rectangular column. The stresses are concentrated at the corners of the rectangular column. Compressive strength of a rectangular column increases greatly because the number of FRP layers increase. The maximum predicted compressive stress of the rectangular column has approximately 10% error as compared to the experimental results. Comparing the numerical and experimental results demonstrates that the accuracy of this analysis procedure is credible. Besides, the stress-strain curves of the R30 models, which are rectangular concrete column with large radius of round corners, are almost bilinear. This calculated results conform to the expectation and show the present analysis procedure are more suitable than Mander's model (1988) to analyze the compressive behavior of the rectangular concrete column confined by FRP.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.463-468
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• 2002

For the Externally bonded FRP systems, flexural design method is studied focusing on the reinforcement layer of the carbon fiber sheets. As the FRP layer is added, strengthening rate increases, but not proportionally as the FRP layer increases. This is reflected in the design formula appropriately by the bond cofficients from the added layers. As the number of FRP layer increases, the stress reinforcement and FRP sheet decreases, and it generally corresponds to the decrease rate of member flexural strength. This phenomenon is appearing indentically in a design formula and experimental result. The rate of $M_{test}$ and $M_n$ is 1.19 and it is estimated as safety factor which is the reduction factor, ${\psi}_f = 0.85$.