• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.439-444
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• 2018

This paper presents a numerical study on the behavior of continuous hollow steel beam strengthened using carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Most previous studies on the CFRP strengthening of steel beams have been carried out on the steel beams with simple boundary conditions. No independent study, to the researcher's knowledge, has studied on the CFRP strengthening of square hollow section (SHS) continuous steel beam. However, this study explored the effect of the use of adhesively bonded CFRP flexible sheets on the behavior of the continuous SHS steel beams. Finite Element Method (FEM) has been employed for modeling. Eleven specimens, ten of which were strengthened using CFRP sheets, were analyzed under different coverage length, the number of layers, and the location of CFRP composite. ANSYS software was used to analyze the SHS steel beams. The results showed that the coverage length, the number of layers, and the location of CFRP composite are effective in increasing the ultimate load capacity of the continuous SHS steel beams. Application of CFRP composite also caused the ductility increase some strengthened specimens.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2022

This paper performs an experimental study on the flexural behavior of preloaded reinforced self-compacted concrete beams strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymers CFRP. A group of six preloaded strengthened beams was investigated along with one unstrengthened beam used as a reference beam RB. All beams have the same dimensions and reinforcement details: three beams are strengthened with CFRP laminates against flexural failure and three beams are strengthened with CFRP sheets. For simulating actual conditions, the beams are loaded before strengthening. Then, after strengthening, the beams are tested for flexural strength using 4-point loads where cracked and ultimate load and failure mode, along with load-deflection relation are recorded. To study the different configurations of strengthening, one layer, two layers, and U-wrap formation of laminates and sheets are considered. The results show that strengthing the RC beams using CFRP is an effective method to increase the beam's capacity by 47% up to 153% where deflection is reduced by 5%-80%. So, the beams strengthened with CFRP laminates have higher load capacity and lower ductility in comparison with the beams strengthened with CFRP sheets.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.361-376
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• 2007

Disposing of conventional fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) poses an environmentally challenging problem. Disposal of FRPs by combustion discharges carbon dioxide in the air because the resin of FRPs is made of fossil fuel. When they are disposed of in the ground, FRPs remain semipermanently without decomposing. In response to these problems, green composites are now being developed and are extensively studied as a material that produces a lower environmental burden. In this paper, green composites using kenaf fiber yarn bundles and PLA (poly(lactic acid)) are fabricated and their tensile properties are evaluated in the experiment. The tensile Young's modulus of all of the laminations is larger than that of PLA alone and the tensile strength of some laminations is larger than that of PLA alone. In particular, the value of UD composite of $0^{\circ$ shows double the tensile strength of PLA alone. Furthermore, the molding conditions for fabricating with a hot press are investigated and the heat resistant tensile properties of green composites are also reported.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.91-105
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• 2016

One of the most commonly used techniques to strengthen steel reinforced concrete structures is the application of externally bonded patches in the form of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) or recently, textile reinforced cements (TRC). These external patches undertake the tensile stress of bending constraining concrete cracking. Development of full-field inspection methodologies for fracture monitoring are important since the reinforcing layers are not transparent, hindering visual observation of the material condition underneath. In the present study acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) are applied during four-point bending tests of large beams to follow the damage accumulation. AE helps to determine the onset of fracture as well as the different damage mechanisms through the registered shifts in AE rate, location of active sources and change in waveform parameters. The effect of wave propagation distance, which in large components and in-situ can well mask the original information as emitted by the fracture incidents is also discussed. Simultaneously, crucial information is supplied by DIC concerning the moments of stress release of the patches due to debonding, benchmarking the trends monitored by AE. From the point of view of mechanics, conclusions on the reinforcing contribution of the different repair methodologies are also drawn.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.679-687
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• 2018

In composite materials technology, the fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) have opened up new horizons in infrastructural engineering field for strengthening existing structures and components of structure. The Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets are well suited for RC columns to this application because of their high strength to weight ratio, good fatigue properties and excellent resistance to corrosion. The main focus of present experimental work is to investigate effect of shapes on axial behavior of CFRP wrapped RC columns having same cross-sectional area and slenderness ratio. The CFRP volumetric ratio and percentage of steel are also adopted constant for all the test specimens. A total of 18 RC columns with slenderness ratio four were cast. Nine columns were control and the rest of nine columns were strengthened with one layer of CFRP wrap having 35 mm of corner radius. Columns confined with CFRP wrap were designed using IS: 456:2000 and ACI 440.2R.08 provisions. All the test specimens were loaded for axial compression up to failure and failure pattern for each shaped column was investigated. All the experimental results were compared with analytical values calculated as per the ACI-440.2R-08 code. The test results clearly demonstrated that the axial behavior of CFRP confined RC columns is affected with the change in shapes. The axial deformation is higher in CFRP wrapped RC circular column as compared to square and rectangular columns. Stress-strain behaviour revealed that the yield strength gained from CFRP confinement was significant for circular columns as compare to square and rectangular columns. This behaviour may be credited due to effect of shape on lateral deformation in case of CFRP wrapped circular columns at effective confinement action.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.357-376
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• 2024

In this paper, weakly bonded ultra-high-strength steel bars (UHSS) were used as longitudinal reinforcement in recycled aggregate concrete shear walls to achieve resilient performance. The study evaluated the repairability and hysteresis performance of shear walls before and after retrofitting. Quasi-static tests were performed on recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and steel fiber reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (FRAC) shear walls to investigate the reparability of resilient shear walls when loaded to 1% drift ratio. Results showed that shear walls exhibited drift-hardening properties. The maximum residual drift ratio and residual crack width at 1% drift ratio were 0.107% and 0.01mm, respectively, which were within the repairable limits. Subsequently, shear walls were retrofitted with bonded X-shaped CFRP strips and steel plates wrapped at the bottom and retested. Except for a slight reduction in initial stiffness, earthquake-damaged resilient shear walls retrofitted with a composite method still had satisfactory hysteresis performance. A revised damage assessment index D, has been proposed to assess of damage degree. Moreover, finite-element analysis for the shear wall before and after retrofit retrofitting was established in OpenSees and verified with experimental results. The finite element results and test results were in good agreement. Finally, parametric analysis was performed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.403-417
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• 2022

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures with low-strength RC columns are rampant in several countries, especially those constructed during the early 1960s and 1970s. The weakness of these structures due to overloading or some natural disasters such as earthquakes and building age effects are some of the main reasons to collapse, particularly with the scarcity of data on the impact of aspect ratio and corner radius on the confinement effectiveness. Hence, it is crucial to investigate if these columns (with different aspect ratios) can be made safe by strengthening them with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) sheets. Therefore, experimental and numerical studies of CFRP-strengthened low-strength reinforced concrete short rectangular, square, and circular columns were studied. In this investigation, a total of 6 columns divided into three sets were evaluated. The first set had two circular cross-sectional columns, the second set had two square cross-section columns, and the third set has two rectangular cross-section columns. Furthermore, FEM validation has been conducted for some of the experimental results obtained from the literature. The experimental results revealed that the confinement equations for RC columns as per both CSA and ACI codes could give incorrect results for low-strength concrete. The control specimen (unstrengthened ones) displayed that both ACI and CSA equations overestimate the ultimate strength of low-strength RC columns by order of extent. For strengthened columns with CFRP, the code equations of CSA and ACI code overestimate the maximum strength by around 6 to 13% and 23 to 29%, respectively, depending on the cross-section of the column (i.e., square, rectangular, or circular). Results of finite element models (FEMs) showed that increasing the layer number of new commonly CFRP type (B) from one to 3 for circular columns can increase the column's ultimate loads by around eight times compared to unjacketed columns. However, in the case of strengthened square and rectangular columns with CFRP, the increase of the ultimate loads of columns can reach up to six times and two times, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.141-148
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• 2008

In the recent construction industry, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers(CFRPs) have been highly considered as innovative strengthening materials for civil structures due to their superior material properties. This paper is to offer design data and strengthening efficiency of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP Plate. Static tests were carried out to evaluate failure modes and strengthening capacity. Displacements and strains of steel and CFRP plates were obtained and analyzed through a series of fatigue tests. Also, Those evaluated the energy dissipation. Results of the tests showed increase in strengthening ratios caused debonding failure at the end of beams. For the beams wrapped with CFRP sheets around the end of the plates, debonding failure mode that was induced from flexural cracks was indicated. Through the fatigue tests, it was observed that displacements, strains of steel and CFRP plates converged into certain values. It is also proved that the beams strengthened with CFRP plates are able to resist fatigue loading under serviceability.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.43-59
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• 2014

Many bridges are subject to lateral damage for their girders due to impact by over-height vehicles collision. In this study, the optimum configurations of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) laminates were investigated to repair the laterally damaged prestressed concrete (PS) bridge girders. Experimental and analytical investigations were conducted to study the flexural behavior of 13 half-scale AASHTO type II PS girders under both static and fatigue loading. Lateral impact damage due to vehicle collision was simulated by sawing through the concrete of the bottom flange and slicing through one of the prestressing strands. The damaged concrete was repaired and CFRP systems (longitudinal soffit laminates and evenly spaced transverse U-wraps) were applied to restore the original flexural capacity and mitigate debonding of soffit CFRP longitudinal laminates. In addition to the static load tests for ten girders, three more girders were tested under fatigue loading cycles to investigate the behavior under simulated traffic conditions. Measurements of the applied load, the deflection at five different locations, strains along the cross-section height at mid-span, and multiple strains longitudinally along the bottom soffit were recorded. The study investigated and recommended the proper CFRP repair design in terms of the CFRP longitudinal layers and U-wrapping spacing to obtain flexural capacity improvement and desired failure modes for the repaired girders. Test results showed that with proper detailing, CFRP systems can be designed to restore the lost flexural capacity, sustain the fatigue load cycles, and maintain the desired failure mode.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.47-70
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• 2012

To enhance cable stiffness, this paper proposed a combined application of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) and steel materials, resulting in a novel type of hybrid stay cable system especially for the cable-stayed bridges with main span lengths of 1400~2800 m. In this combination, CFRP materials can conserve all their advantages such as light weight and high strength; while steel materials help increase the equivalent stiffness to compensate for the low elastic modulus of CFRP materials. An increase of the equivalent stiffness of the hybrid stay cable system could be further obtained with a reasonable increase of its safety factor. Following this concept, a series of parametric studies for the hybrid stay cable system with the consideration of stiffness and cost were carried out. Three design strategies/criteria, namely, best equivalent stiffness with a given safety factor, highest ratio of equivalent stiffness to material cost with a given safety factor, and best equivalent stiffness under a given cost were proposed from the stiffness and cost viewpoints. Finally, a comprehensive design procedure following the proposed design strategies was suggested. It was shown that the proposed hybrid stay cable system could be a good alternative to the pure CFRP or traditional steel stay cables in the future applications of super long span bridges.