• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.675-684
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• 2020

An innovative retrofit method using pre-stressed steel strips and externally-bonded steel plates was presented in this paper. With the aim of exploring the seismic performance of the retrofitted RC interior joints, four 1/2-scale retrofitted joint specimens together with one control specimen were designed and subjected to constant axial compression and cyclic loading, with the main test parameters being the volume of steel strips and the existence of externally-bonded steel plates. The damage mechanism, force-displacement hysteretic response, force-displacement envelop curve, energy dissipation and displacement ductility ratio were analyzed to investigate the cyclic behavior of the retrofitted joints. The test results indicated that all the test specimens suffered a typical shear failure at the joint core, and the application of externally-bonded steel plates and that of pre-stressed steel strips could effectively increase the lateral capacity and deformability of the deficient RC interior joints, respectively. The best cyclic behavior could be found in the deficient RC interior joint retrofitted using both externally-bonded steel plates and pre-stressed steel strips due to the increased lateral capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation. Finally, based on the test results and the softened strut and tie model, a theoretical model for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted specimens was proposed and validated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1275-1303
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• 2016

Steel plates and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates or plates bonded to concrete substrates have been widely used for concrete strengthening. However, this technique cause plate debonding, which makes the strengthening system inefficient. The main objective of this study is to enhance the bond strength of externally bonded steel plates and CFRP laminates to the concrete surface by proposing new embedded adhesive and steel connectors. The effects of these new embedded connectors were investigated through the tests on 36 prism specimens. Parameters such as interfacial shear stress, fracture energy and the maximum strains in plates were also determined in this study and compared with the maximum value of debonding stresses using a relevant failure criterion by means of pullout test. The study indicates that the interfacial bond strength between the externally bonded plates and concrete can be increased remarkably by using these connectors. The investigation verifies that steel connectors increase the shear bond strength by 48% compared to 38% for the adhesive connectors. Thus, steel connectors are more effective than adhesive connectors in increasing shear bond strength. Results also show that the use of double connectors significantly increases interfacial shear stress and decrease debonding failure. Finally, a new proposed formula is modified to predict the maximum bond strength of steel plates and CFRP laminates adhesively glued to concrete in the presence of the embedded connectors.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-43
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• 2016

This paper presents the results of an experimental study investigating the effects of anchorage systems used in externally bonded steel plates on the strength and ductility of reinforced concrete structures. In the literature, diagonal steel plates bonded to frames were designed to be more flexible than the connections to eliminate the possible effect of the connection flexibility. However, to better evaluate the performance of the strengthened structures, the strength and behavior of connections should also be considered. The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of different connection types of steel plates bonded to the frame using anchors on the strengthened RC structures. For this purpose, eleven specimens were designed to simulate the interior and exterior connection behavior. Two of these were used as the control beams and remaining nine for the investigation of the functionality of the end steel plates. Experimental results show that the load carrying capacity of the strengthened beams is directly related to the connection types of the steel plates. For the interior connections, L-shaped end plates that were strengthened using steel anchors must have adequate stiffness to prevent its shape. While, for the exterior connections, the connection with three anchors carried more load than the other exterior connections.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1994.10a
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• pp.160-166
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• 1994

In general, the problems of strengthening and repairing of deteriorated or damaged reinforced concrete members are usually worked out in situ by externally bounding steel plates using epoxy resins, which has been recognized to be one of effective and convenient methods. But the disadvantages of strengthening/repairing concrete members with externally bonded steel plates include ; (a) deterioration of the bond at the steel-concrete interface caused by the corrosion of steel ; (b) difficulty in manipulating the plate at the construction site ; (c) improper formation of joints, due to the limited delivery lengths of the steel plates ; and etc. Therefore these difficulties eventually have led to the concept of replacing the steel plates by fiber-reinforced composite sheets which are characterized by their light weight, extremely high stiffness, excellent fatigue properties, and outstanding corrosion resistance. In the paper, for the reliability assessment of reinforced concrete beams externally strengthened by carbon fiber plastic(CFRP) laminates, an attempt is made to suggest a limit state model based on the strain compatibility method and the concept of fracture mechanics. And the reliability of the proposed models is evaluated by using the AFOSM method. The load carrying capacity of the deteriorated and/or damaged RC beams is considerably increased. Thus, it may be stated that the post-strengthening of concrete beams with externally bonded CFRP materials may be one of very effective way of increasing the load carrying capacity and stiffeness characteristics of existing structures.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.729-732
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• 1999

In this paper, the Mohr-Coulomb criterion was adopted to predict the bonding failure load of the reinforced concrete beams strengthened by the externally bonded steel plates. Based on this criterion, a nonlinear analysis program of APSB(Analysis Program for Strengthened Beams) and nonlinear finite element analysis program of RCSD-SB (Reinforced Concrete Structural Design - Strengthened Beams) were developed. Numerical results were then compared with experimental results and good agreements were obtained.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 2022

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the effectiveness of using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and steel plates to repair damaged reinforced concrete (RC) beams with circular web openings at shear zones. It highlights the effectiveness of externally bonded CFRP and steel plates in repairing damaged RC beams by analysing the repaired beams'load capacity, deflection, strain, and failure mode. For the experiment, a total of five beams were used, with one solid beam as a control beam and the other four beams having an opening near the shear zone. Two beams with openings were repaired using inclined and vertical configuration CFRP plates, and the other two were repaired using inclined and vertical configuration steel plates. The results confirm the effectiveness of CFRP and steel plates for repairing damaged RC beams with circular openings. The CFRP and steel plates significantly increase ultimate capacity and reduce deflection under the openings. The inclined configuration of both CFRP and steel plates was more effective than the vertical configuration. Using an inclined configuration not only increases the ultimate capacity of the beams but also changes the mode of failure from shear to flexural.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.413-429
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• 2016

A theoretical method to predict the interfacial stresses in the adhesive layer of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with externally bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plate is presented. The analysis provides efficient calculations for both shear and normal interfacial stresses in reinforced concrete beams strengthened with composite plates, and accounts for various effects of Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus of adhesive. Such interfacial stresses play a fundamental role in the mechanics of plated beams, because they can produce a sudden and premature failure. The analysis is based on equilibrium and deformations compatibility approach developed by Tounsi. In the present theoretical analysis, the adherend shear deformations are taken into account by assuming a parabolic shear stress through the thickness of both the reinforced concrete beam and bonded plate. The paper is concluded with a summary and recommendations for the design of the strengthened beam.

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

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.181-199
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• 2014

The infill walls, whose contribution to the earthquake resistance of a structure is generally ignored due to their limited lateral rigidities, constitute a part of the lateral load bearing system of an RC frame structure. A common method for improving the earthquake behavior of RC frame structures is increasing the contribution of the infill walls to the overall lateral rigidity by strengthening them through different techniques. The present study investigates the influence of externally bonded perforated steel plates on the load capacities, rigidities, and ductilities of hollow brick infill walls. For this purpose, a reference (unstrengthened) and twelve strengthened specimens were subjected to monotonic diagonal compression. The experiments indicated that the spacing of the bolts, connecting the plates to the wall, have a more profound effect on the behavior of a brick wall compared to the thickness of the strengthening plates. Furthermore, an increase in the plate thickness was shown to result in a considerable improvement in the behavior of the wall only if the plates are connected to the wall with closely-spaced bolts. This strengthening technique was found to increase the energy absorption capacities of the walls between 4 and 14 times the capacity of the reference wall. The strengthened walls reached ultimate loads 30-160% greater than the reference wall and all strengthened walls remained intact till the end of the test.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.589-608
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• 2005

There is a growing need for the development and implementation of new methods for the rapid and cost-effective rehabilitation of deteriorating steel structural components to offset the drawbacks related to welding and/or bolting in the field. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites provide a potential alternative as externally bonded patches for strengthening and repair of metallic structural members for building and bridge systems. This paper describes results of an investigation of tensile and fatigue response of steel/CFRP joints simulating scenarios of strengthening and crack-patching. It is shown that appropriately designed schemes, even when fabricated with levels of inaccuracy as could be expected in the field, can provide significant strain relief and load transfer capability. A simplified elasto-plastic closed form solution for stress analysis is presented, and validated experimentally. It is shown that the bond development length remains constant in the linear range, whereas it increases as the adhesive is deformed plastically. Fatigue resistance is shown to be at least comparable with the requirements for welded cover plates without attendant decreases in stiffness and strength.