• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.623-643
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• 2013

Concrete filled steel tubular members (CFST) become a popular choice for modern building construction due to their numerous structural benefits and at the same time aging of those structures and member deterioration are often reported. Therefore, actions like implement of new materials and strengthening techniques become essential to combat this problem. The application of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) with concrete structures has been widely reported whereas researches related to strengthening of steel structures using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) have been limited. The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the suitability of CFRP to strengthening of CFST members under flexure. There were three wrapping schemes such as Full wrapping at the bottom (fibre bonded throughout entire length of beam), U-wrapping (fibre bonded at the bottom throughout entire length and extended upto neutral axis) and Partial wrapping (fibre bonded in between loading points at the bottom) introduced. Beams strengthened by U-wrapping exhibited more enhancements in moment carrying capacity and stiffness compared to the beams strengthened by other wrapping schemes. The beams of partial wrapping exhibited delamination of fibre and were failed even before attaining the ultimate load of control beam. The test results showed that the presence of CFRP in the outer limits was significantly enhanced the moment carrying capacity and stiffness of the beam. Also, a non linear finite element model was developed using the software ANSYS 12.0 to validate the analytical results such as load-deformation and the corresponding failure modes.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.134-139
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• 2002

Carbon nanotubes are graphene sheets rolled up in cylinders with diameter as small as 1nm. Extensive work carried out in recent years has revealed the intriguing properties of this novel material. Exceptional property combined with low density of nanotubes makes them suitable for use as reinforcements in composites. Low volume of production and high cost is the main limitations towards their growth and application. Nanofibres bridge the gap between the conventional carbon fibre and the carbon nanotubes. With their low cost & comparatively higher volume of production along with their exceptional properties, the nanofibres are considered attractive material as nanoscale reinforcement. In this article a concise review of structure, property. production and application of carbon nanotubes and nanofibres have been discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.427-439
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• 2007

The exploitation of fibre reinforced polymer composites, as external reinforcement is an evergreen and well-known technique for improving the structural performance of reinforced concrete structures. The demand to use FRP composites in the civil engineering industry is mainly due to its high strength, light weight, and stiffness. This paper exemplifies the shear strength of partially precracked reinforced concrete rectangular beams repaired with externally bonded Bi-Directional Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Fabrics strips. All specimens were cast in the laboratory environment without any internal shear reinforcement. The test parameters were longitudinal tensile reinforcement, shear span to effective depth ratio, spacing of CFRP strips, and orientation of CFRP reinforcement. It mainly focuses on the shear capacity and modes of failure of the CFRP strengthened shear beams. Results have shown that the CFRP repaired beams attained a shear enhancement of 32% and 107.64% greater than the control beams. This study underscores that the CFRP strip technique significantly enhanced the shear capacity of precracked reinforced concrete rectangular beams without any internal shear reinforcement.

• Composites Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.7-17
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• 2004

In this study, the effect of laminate thickness on the compressive behaviour of composite materials is investigated through systematic experimental work using the stacking sequences, $[O_4]_{ns},{\;}[45/0/-45/90]_{ns}$ and $[45_n/0_n/-45_n/90_n]_s$ (n=2 to 8). Parameters such as fibre volume fraction, void content, fibre waviness and interlaminar stresses, influencing compressive strength with increasing laminate thickness are also studied experimentally and theoretically. Furthermore the stacking sequence effects on failure strength of multidirectional laminates are examined. For this purpose, two different scaling techniques are used; (1) ply-level technique $[45_n/0_n/-45_n/90_n]s$ and (2) sublaminate level technique $[45/0/-45/90]_{ns}$. An apparent thickness effect existes in the lay-up with blocked plies, i.e. unidirectional specimens ($[O_4]_{ns}) and ply-level scaled multidirectional specimens ($[45_n/0_n/-45_n/90_n]_s$). Fibre waviness and void content are found to be main parameters contributing to the thickness effect on the compressive failure strength. However, the compressive strength of the sublaminate level scaled specimens ($[45/0/-45/90]_{ns}$) is almost unaffected regardless of the specimen thickness (since ply thickness remains constant). From the investigation of the stacking sequence effect, the strength values obtained from the sublaminate level scaled specimens are slightly higher than those obtained from the ply level scaled specimens. The reason for this effect is explained by the fibre waviness, void content, free edge effect and stress redistribution in blocked $0^{\circ}$ plies and unblocked $0^{\circ}$ plies. The measured failure strengths are compared with the predicted values.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2013

In this paper, a novel fibrous material known as axially reinforced braided composite rods (BCRs) have been developed for reinforcement of soils. These innovative materials consist of an axial reinforcement system, comprised of longitudinally oriented core fibres, which is responsible for mechanical performance and, a braided cover, which gives a ribbed surface texture for better interfacial interactions with soils. BCRs were produced using both thermosetting (unsaturated polyester) and thermoplastic (polypropylene) matrices and synthetic (carbon, glass, HT polyethylene), as well as natural (sisal) core fibres. BCRs were characterized for tensile properties and the influence of core fibres was studied. Moreover, BCRs containing carbon fibre in the core composition were characterized for piezoresistivity and strain sensing properties under flexural deformation. According to the experimental results, the developed braided composites showed tailorable and wide range of mechanical properties, depending on the core fibres and exhibited very good strain sensing behavior.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.729-744
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• 2017

This investigation highlights rationale of electrically conductive nano adhesives for its essential application for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding in satellites and Lightning Strike Protection in aircrafts. Carbon Nano Fibres (CNF) were functionalized by electroless process using Tollen's reagent and by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) process by depositing silver on CNF. Different weight percentage of CNF and silver coated CNF were reinforced into the epoxy resin hardener system. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs clearly show the presence of CNF in the epoxy matrix, thus giving enough evidence to show that dispersion is uniform. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies reveal that there is uniform deposition of silver on CNF resulting in significant improvement in interfacial adhesion with epoxy matrix. There is a considerable increase in thermal stability of the conductive nano adhesive demonstrated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Four probe conductivity meters clearly shows a substantial increase in the electrical conductivity of silver coated CNF-epoxy composite compared to non-coated CNF-epoxy composite. Tensile test results clearly show that there is a significant increase in the tensile strength of silver coated CNF-composites compared to non-coated CNF-epoxy composites. Consequently, this technology is highly desirable for satellites and EMI Shielding and will open a new dimension in space research.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.429-440
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• 2002

Current dental restorations present a relatively weak resistance to fracture. Owing to their unique mechanical properties, fibre-reinforced polymers are now being considered. Unidirectional or woven continuous fibres, made of glass, polyethylene, carbon or Kevlar, have been evaluated. This study focused on the use of glass fibre knitted fabrics to reinforce acrylate resins, in order to investigate the possibility to construct single crowns as well as three unit bridges. Some points affecting the final composite system were tested ; 1) static strength, with focus on the stress transfer under a occlusal contact point ; 2) modelling of a three nit bridge ; 3) fatigue strength as a posterior three unit bridge material. The study demonstrated that knitted fabric reinforcements are showing an interesting compromise between stiffness, static strength for single crown. For three unit bridge applications in the posterior arch, however knitted glass fabric reinforcements were not strong enough in fatigue An additional reinforcement in the posterior arch fixed partial denture design was recommended.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.361-372
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• 2019

Tubular joints are used in the construction of offshore structures and other land-based structures because of its ease of fabrication. These joints are subjected to different environmental loadings in their lifetime. At the time of fabrication or modification of an existing offshore platform, tubular joints are usually strengthened to withstand the environmental loads. Currently, various strengthening techniques such as ring stiffeners, gusset plates are employed to strengthen new and existing tubular joints. Due to some limitations with the present practices, some new techniques need to be addressed. Many researchers used Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) to strengthen tubular joints. Some of the studies were focused on axial compression of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) strengthened tubular joints and found that it was an efficient technique. Earlier, the authors had performed studies on Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strengthened tubular joint subjected to axial compression. The study steered to the conclusion that FRP composites is an alternative strengthening technique for tubular joints. In this work, the study was focused on axial compression of Y-joint and in plane and out of plane bending of T-joints. Experimental investigations were performed on these joints, fabricated from ASTM A106 Gr. B steel. Two sets of joints were fabricated for testing, one is a reference joint and the other is a joint strengthened with CFRP. After performing the set of experiments, test results were then compared with the numerical solution in ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). It was observed that the joints strengthened with CFRP were having improved strength, lesser surface displacement and ovalization when compared to the reference joint.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.195-200
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• 2001

Composites have wide applications in aerospace vehicles and automobiles because of the inherent flexibility in their design for improved material properties. Composite tribes in particular, are potential candidates for their use as energy absorbing elements in crashworthiness applications due to their high specific energy absorbing capacity and the stroke efficiency. Their failure mechanism however is highly complicated and rather difficult to analyze. This includes fracture in fibres, in the matrix and in the fibre-matrix interface in tension, compression and shear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy absorption characteristics of CFRP(Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) tubes on static and impact tests. Static compression tests have been carried out using the static testing machine and impact tests have been carried out using the vertical crushing testing machine. Interlaminar number affect the energy absorption capability of CFRP tubes. Also, theoretical and experimental have the same value.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.485-496
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• 1996

This paper describes a numerical and experimental study on the stability and failure behaviour of rectangular symmetric laminated composite plates. The plates are simply supported along the unloaded edges and clamped along the loaded ends, and they are subjected to uniaxial in-plane compression. The finite element method was employed for the theoretical study. The study examines the effect of the plate's stacking sequence and aspect ratio on the stability and failure response of rectangular symmetric laminated carbon fibre reinforced plastics composite plates. The study also includes the effect of the unloaded edge support conditions on the postbuckling response and failure of the plates. Extensive experimental investigation were also carried out to supplement the finite element study. A comprehensive comparison between theory and experimental data are presented and discussed in this contribution.