• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2013

This paper presents the experimental results of behacior of slender square hollow section columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) sheets subjected to concentrated axial loading. Three long specimens were fabricated and one stub column were fabricated. The main parameters were the number of CFRP layers. From the tests, it was observed that global buckling were occurred at the center of specimen for unretrofitting slender column. However, CFRP retrofitting could prevent the global buckling of slender column. Maximum increase of 22% was also achieved in axial-load capacity with three longitudinal layered CFRP applied on four sides of steel tubes.

• Composites Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.84-90
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• 1999

High alumina cement(HAC) and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) based macro-defect-free(MDF) cement composites were reinforced using short carbon fibers, 3mm in length, 1-4% in weight fraction and insoluble polymers such as polyurethane, epoxy, phenol resin, in order to increase mechanical properties and water stability. The specimens were manufactured by the low heat-press(warmpress) method. In addition, the interface and the cross-linking reaction of cement and polymers was also studied by the SEM and TEM. Flexural strength of HAC/PVA based MDF cementitious composites was proportionally decreased with increasing fiber contents due to the undensified structure around fibers. The flexural strength of insoluble polymer added specimen was decreased with increasing fiber contents, while water stability was dramatically improved. Epoxy resin added specimen showed the highest strength with increasing fiber contents, compared with other specimens. The water stability of fiber content 4% added specimen immersed in water presented about 95%, 87% at 3 and 7 days immersed in water, respectively. The interfacial adhesive strength of fiber-matrix was very much improved due to cross linking reaction of polymer and metal ions of cement. Tensile strength of insoluble polymers added composites as linearly increased with increasing the fiber contents. The epoxy resin added specimen also showed highest tensile strength. The 4% fiber added specimen presented 30~80% higher strength than controlled specimen.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.47-66
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• 2019

One method of retrofitting concrete structures is to use fiber reinforced polymers (FRP). In this research, the shear, torsional and flexural strengthening of self-compacting reinforced concrete (RC) girders are fulfilled with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials. At first, for verification, the experimental results were compared with numerical modeling results obtained from ABAQUS software version 6.10. Then the reinforcing sheets were attached to concrete girders in one and two layers. Studying numerical results obtained from ABAQUS software showed that the girders stiffness decreased with the propagations of cracks in them, and then the extra stresses were tolerated by adhesive layers and GFRP and CFRP sheets, which resulted in increasing the bearing capacity of the studied girders. In fact, shear, torsion and bending strengths of the girders increased by reinforcing girders with adding GFRP and CFRP sheets. The samples including two layers of CFRP had the maximum efficiencies that were 90, 76 and 60 percent of improvement in shear, torsion and bending strengths, respectively. It is worth noting that the bearing capacity of concrete girders with adding one layer of CFRP was slightly higher than the ones having two layers of GFRP in all circumstances; therefore, despite the lower initial cost of GFRP, using CFRP can be more economical in some conditions.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2014

The use of carbon fibers (CF) and glass fibers (GF) were combined to strengthen concrete flexural members. In this study, data of tensile tests of 94 hybrid carbon-glass FRP sheets and 47 carbon and GF rovings or sheets were thoroughly investigated in terms of tensile behavior. Based on comparisons between the rule of mixtures and test data, positive hybrid effects were identified for various (GF/CF) ratios. Unlike the rule of mixtures, the hybrid sheets with relatively low (GF/CF) ratios also produced pseudo-ductility. From the calibrated results obtained from experiments, a new analytical model for the stress-strain relationship of hybrid FRP sheets was proposed. Finally, the hybrid effects were verified by structural tests of concrete members strengthened with hybrid FRP sheets and either carbon or glass FRP sheets.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2019

In this study, carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/EP) composites were interleaved with aramid nonwoven veils with an areal weight density of $8.5g/m^2$ to improve their Mode-I fracture toughness. The control and aramid interleaved CF/EP composite laminates were manufactured by VARTM in a [0]4 configuration. Tensile, three-point bending, compression, interlaminar shear, Charpy impact and Mode-I (DCB) fracture toughness values were determined to evaluate the effects of aramid nonwoven fabrics on the mechanical performance of the CF/EP composites. Thermomechanical behavior of the specimens was investigated by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). The results showed that the propagation Mode-I fracture toughness values of CF/EP composites can be significantly improved (by about 72%) using aramid nonwoven fabrics. It was found that the main extrinsic toughening mechanism is aramid microfiber bridging acting behind the crack-tip. The incorporation of these nonwovens also increased interlaminar shear and Charpy impact strength by 10 and 16.5%, respectively. Moreover, it was revealed that the damping ability of the composites increased with the incorporation of aramid nonwoven fabrics in the interlaminar region of composites. On the other hand, they caused a reduction in in-plane mechanical properties due to the reduced carbon fiber volume fraction, increased thickness and void formation in the composites.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.409-426
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• 2018

This paper presents the strengthening of tubular joint by wrapping Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP). In this study, total number of layers, stacking sequence and length of wrapping are the different parameters involved when fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) composites are used for strengthening. For this, parameters where varied and results were compared with the reference joint. The best stacking sequence was identified which has the highest value in ultimate load with lesser deflections. For determining the best stacking sequence, numerical investigation was performed on CFRP composites; length of wrapping and number of layers were fixed. Later, the studies were focused on CFRP and GFRP strengthened joint by varying the total number of layers and length of wrapping. An attempt was done to propose a parametric equation from multiple regression analysis, which can be used for CFRP strengthened joints. Hashin failure criteria was used to check the failure of composites. Results revealed that FRP was having a greater influence in the load bearing capacity of joints, and in reducing the deflections and stresses of joint under axial compressive loads. It was also seen that, CFRP was far better than GFRP in reducing the stresses and deflection.

• Carbon letters
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• v.19
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

In efforts to characterize and understand the properties and processing of phenylethynyl-terminated imide (LaRC PETI-5, simply referred to as PETI-5) oligomers and polymers as a high-temperature sizing material for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites, PETI-5 imidization and thermal curing behaviors have been extensively investigated based on the phenylethynyl end-group reaction. These studies are reviewed here. In addition, the use of PETI-5 to enhance interfacial adhesion between carbon fibers and a bismaleimide (BMI) matrix, as well as the dynamic mechanical properties of carbon/BMI composites, are discussed. Reports on the thermal expansion behavior of intercalated graphite flake, and the effects of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP) on the properties of PETI-5 matrix composites are also reviewed. The dynamic mechanical and thermal properties and the electrical resistivity of xGnP/PETI-5 composites are characterized. The effect of liquid rubber amine-terminated poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile) (ATBN)-coated xGnP particles incorporated into epoxy resin on the toughness of xGnP/epoxy composites is examined in terms of its impact on Izod strength. This paper provides an extensive overview from fundamental studies on PETI-5 and xGnP, as well as applied studies on relevant composite materials.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.115-133
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• 2017

To investigate the effectiveness of using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets in confining heat-damaged columns, 15 circular RC column specimens were tested under axial compression. The effects of heating duration, stiffness and thickness of the FRP wrapping sheets were examined. Two specimen groups, six each, were subjected to elevated temperatures of $500^{\circ}C$ for 2 and 3 h, respectively. Eight of the heat-damaged specimens were wrapped with unidirectional carbon and glass FRP sheets. Test results confirmed that elevated temperatures adversely affect the axial load resistance and stiffness of the columns while increasing their ductility and toughness. Full wrapping with FRP sheets increased the axial load capacity and toughness of the damaged columns. A single layer of the carbon sheets managed to restore the original axial resistance of the columns heated for 2 h yet, two layers were needed to restore the axial resistance of columns heated for 3 h. Glass FRP sheets were found to be less effective; using two layers of glass sheets managed to restore the axial load carrying capacity of columns heated for 2 h only. Confining the heat-damaged columns with FRP circumferential wraps failed in recovering the original axial stiffness of the columns. Test results confirmed that FRP-confining models adopted by international design guidelines should address the increased confinement efficiency in heat-damaged circular RC columns.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.187-194
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• 2017

To reuse a broken plain concrete (PC) arch, a retrofitting method was proposed to ensure excellent structural performances, in which carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) were applied to repair and strengthen the damaged PC arch through bonding and wrapping techniques. Experiments were carried out to reveal the deformation and the load carrying capacity of the retrofitted composite arch. Based on the experiments, repairing and strengthening effects of the CFRP retrofitted broken arch were revealed. Simplified analysing model was suggested to predict the peak load of the CFRP retrofitted broken arch. According to the research, it is confirmed that absolutely broken PC arch can be completely repaired and reinforced, and even behaves more excellent than the intact PC arch when bonded together and strengthened with CFRP sheets. Using CFRP bonding/wrapping technique a novel efficient composite PC arch structure can be constructed, the comparison between rebar reinforced concrete (RC) arch and composite PC arch reveals that CFRP reinforcements can replace the function of steel bars in concrete arch.

• Carbon letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.139-150
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• 2012

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), PLLA/hydroxyapatite (HA), PLLA/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/HA, PLLA/trifluoroethanol (TFE), PLLA/gelatin, and carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/${\beta}$-tricalcium phosphate (${\beta}$-TCP) composite membranes (scaffolds) were fabricated by electrospinning and their morphologies, and mechanical properties were characterized for use in bone tissue regeneration/guided tissue regeneration. MWNTs and HA nanoparticles were well distributed in the membranes and the degradation characteristics were improved. PLLA/MWNTs/HA membranes enhanced the adhesion and proliferation of periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) by 30% and inhibited the adhesion of gingival epithelial cells by 30%. Osteoblast-like MG-63 cells on the randomly fiber oriented PLLA/TEF membrane showed irregular forms, while the cells exhibited shuttle-like shapes on the parallel fiber oriented membrane. Classical supersaturated simulated body fluids were modified by $CO_2$ bubbling and applied to promote the biomineralization of the PLLA/gelatin membrane; this resulted in predictions of bone bonding bioactivity of the substrates. The ${\beta}$-TCP membranes exhibit good biocompatibility, have an effect on PDLC growth comparable to that of pure CNF membrane, and can be applied as scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration.