• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.635-643
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• 2017

The rehabilitation and strengthening of concrete structures using Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials have been widely investigated. As a priority issue, however, the effect of curing conditions on the bonding behavior between FRP and concrete structures is still elusive. This study aims at developing a prediction model to accurately capture the mode-II interfacial debonding between FRP strips and concrete under different curing conditions. Single shear debonding experiments were conducted on FRP-concrete samples with respect to different curing time t and temperatures T. The J-integral formulation and constrained least square minimization are carried out to calibrate the parameters, i.e., the maximum slip $\bar{s}$ and stretch factor n. The prediction model is developed based on the cohesive model and Arrhenius relationship. The experimental data are then analyzed using the proposed model to predict the debonding between FRP and concrete, i.e., the interfacial shear stress-slip relationship. A Finite Element (FE) model is developed to validate the theoretical predictions. Satisfactory agreements are obtained. The prediction model can be used to accurately capture the bonding performance of FRP-concrete structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.545-553
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• 2018

Mode II delamination propagation is an important damage mode in laminated composites and this paper aims to investigate the behavior of this damage in laminated composite materials using acoustic emission (AE) technique. Three different lay-ups of glass/epoxy composites were subjected to mode II delamination propagation and generated AE signals were recorded. In order to investigate the propagation of delamination behavior of these specimens, AE signals were analyzed using Wavelet Packet Transforms (WPT) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). In addition, conventional AE analyses were used to enhance understanding of the propagation of delamination damage. The results indicate that different fracture mechanisms were the main cause of the AE signals. The dominant mechanisms in all the specimens were matrix cracking, fiber/matrix debonding and fiber breakage, with varying percentage of the damage mechanisms for each lay-up. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observations were in accordance to the AE results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1145-1156
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• 2016

To study the effects of foam core density and face-sheet thickness on the mechanical properties and failure modes of aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) beam, especially when the aluminum foam core is made in aluminum alloy and the face sheet thickness is less than 1.5 mm, three-point bending tests were investigated experimentally by using WDW-50E electronic universal tensile testing machine. Load-displacement curves were recorded to understand the mechanical response and photographs were taken to capture the deformation process of the composite structures. Results demonstrated that when foam core was combined with face-sheet thickness of 0.8 mm, its carrying capacity improved with the increase of core density. But when the thickness of face-sheet increased from 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm, result was opposite. For AFS with the same core density, their carrying capacity increased with the face-sheet thickness, but failure modes of thin face-sheet AFS were completely different from the thick face-sheet AFS. There were three failure modes in the present research: yield damage of both core and bottom face-sheet (Failure mode I), yield damage of foam core (Failure mode II), debonding between the adhesive interface (Failure mode III).

• 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.