• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.511-523
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• 2015

Damaged steel-concrete composite girders can be repaired and retrofitted by epoxy-bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to the critical areas of tension flanges. This paper presents the results of a study on the behavior of damaged steel-concrete composite girders repaired with CFRP sheets under static loading. A total of seven composite girders made of I20A steel sections and 80mm-thick by 900mm-wide concrete slabs were prepared and tested. CFRP sheets and prestressed CFRP sheets were used to repair the specimens. The specimens lost the cross-sectional area of their tension flanges with 30%, 50% and 100%. The results showed that CFRP sheets had no significant effect on the yield loads of strengthened composite girders, but had significant effect on the ultimate loads. The yield loads, elastic stiffness, and ultimate bearing capacities of strengthened composite girders had been changed as a result of prestressed CFRP sheets, the utilization ratio of CFRP sheets could be effectively improved by applying prestress to CFRP sheets. Both the yield loads and ultimate bearing capacities had been changed as a result of steel beam's flange damage level and CFRP sheets could cover the girders' shortage of bearing capacity with 30% and 50% flange damage, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.159-172
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• 2019

Strengthening of civil infrastructure with advanced composites have recently become one of the most popular methods. The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) strips plates and fabric for strengthening of reinforced concrete structures has well established design guidelines and standards. Research on the application of FRP composites to steel structures compared to concrete structures is limited, especially for shear strengthening applications. Whereas, there is a need for cost-effective system that could be used to strengthen steel high-way bridge girders to cope with losses due to corrosion in addition to continuous demands for increasing traffic loads. In this study, a parametric finite element study is performed to investigate the effect of applying thick CFRP strips diagonally on webs of plate girders on the shear strength of end-web panels. The study focuses on illustrating the effect of several geometric parameters on nominal shear strength. Hence, a formula is developed to determine the enhancement of shear strength gained upon the application of CFRP strips.

• Composites Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.186-189
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• 2024

This study compared and evaluated the mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer (CFRTP) mixed with nanofillers. After mixing various nanofillers such as Multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT), Silicon oxide, Core shell rubber, and Aramid nanofiber with Polyamide 6 (PA6) resin, this is used as a matrix to create a carbon fiber reinforced composite material (CFRP) was manufactured and its physical properties were measured. Depending on the type and mixing ratio of nanofiller, tensile strength, inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS), and Izod impact strength were measured. In terms of tensile strength and impact strength, the highest values were obtained when mixing core shell rubber, however the ILSS was optimal when mixing less than 1 wt.% of silicon oxide.

• Composites Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.34-38
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• 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely investigated as reinforcements of CNT/polymer nanocomposites to enhance mechanical and electrical properties of polymer matrices since their discovery in the early 90's. Furthermore, the number of studies about incorporating CNTs into carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) to reinforce their polymer matrices is increasing recently. In this study, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were dispersed in epoxy with 0.2 wt.% and 0.5 wt.%. Then, the SWNT/epoxy mixtures were processed to carbon fiber composites by a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) and a wet lay up method. The processed composite samples were tested for the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). The relationship between the interlaminar shear strengths and processing, and the reinforcement mechanism of carbon nanotubes were investigated. CNT/epoxy nanocomposite specimens showed the increased tensile properties. However, the ILSS of carbon fiber composites was not enhanced by reinforcing the matrix with CNTs because of processing issues caused by increased viscosity of the matrix due to addition of CNTs particularly for a VARTM method.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.391-406
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• 2008

This study attempts to develop a real-time debonding monitoring system for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened structures by continuously inspecting the bonding condition between the CFRP layer and the host structure. The uniqueness of this study is in developing a new concept and theoretical framework of nondestructive testing (NDT), in which debonding is detected without relying on previously-obtained baseline data. The proposed reference-free damage diagnosis is achieved based on the concept of time reversal acoustics (TRA). In TRA, an input signal at an excitation point can be reconstructed if the response signal measured at another point is reemitted to the original excitation point after being reversed in the time domain. Examining the deviation of the reconstructed signal from the known initial input signal allows instantaneous identification of damage without requiring a baseline signal representing the undamaged state for comparison. The concept of TRA has been extended to guided wave propagations within the CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams to improve the detectibility of local debonding. Monotonic and fatigue load tests of large-scale CFRP-strengthened RC beams are conducted to demonstrate the potential of the proposed reference-free debonding monitoring system. Comparisons with an electro-mechanical impedance method and an inferred imaging technique are provided as well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.4
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• pp.375-389
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• 2023

In many fiber concrete beams with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), debonding occurs between the carbon sheets and the concrete due to the low strength of the bonding resin. A total of 42 fiber concrete beams with a cross-section of 10×10 cm with a span length of 50 cm are fabricated and retrofitted with CFRP and subjected to a 4-point bending test. Graphene Oxide (GO) at 1, 2, and 3 wt% of the resin is used to improve the mechanical properties of the bonding resins, and the effect of length, width, and the number of layers of CFRP and resin material are investigated. The crack pattern, failure mode, and stress-strain curve are analyzed and compared in each case. The results showed that adding GO to polyamine resin could improve the bonding between the resin and the fiber concrete beam. Furthermore, the optimum amount of nanomaterials is equal to 2% by the weight of the resin. Using 2% nanomaterials showed that by increasing the length, width, and number of layers, the bearing and stiffness of fiber concrete beams increased significantly.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.411-427
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• 2016

While the cyclic behaviour of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-confined columns is studied rather extensively, the cyclic response especially the energy dissipation of FRP-confined damaged and undamaged square RC columns is not yet fully understood. In this paper, an experimental and numerical investigation was conducted to study the cyclic behavior of two different types of Carbon FRP (CFRP)-confined square RC columns: strengthened and repaired. The main variables investigated are initial damage, confinement of CFRP, longitudinal steel reinforcement ratio. The experimental results show that lower initial damage, added confinement with CFRP and longitudinal reinforcement enhance the ductility, energy dissipation capacity and strength of the columns, decrease the stiffness and strength degradation rates of all CFRP-confined square RC columns. Two hysteretic constitutive models were developed for confined damaged and undamaged concrete and cast into the non-linear beam-column fiber-based models in the software Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (OpenSees) to analyze the cyclic behavior of CFRP-confined damaged and undamaged columns. The results of the numerical models are in good agreement with the experiments.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.205-219
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• 2019

In Peru, construction of dwellings using confined masonry walls (CM) has a high percentage of acceptance within many sectors of the population. It is estimated that only in Lima, 80% of the constructions use CM and at least 70% of these are informal constructions. This mean that they are built without proper technical advice and generally have a high seismic vulnerability. One way to reduce this vulnerability is by reinforcing the walls. However, despite the existence of some reinforcement methods in the market, not all of them can be applied massively because there are other parameters to take into account, as economical, criteria for seismic improvement, reinforcement ratio, etc. Therefore, in this paper the feasibility of using five reinforcement techniques has been studied and compared. These reinforcements are: welded mesh (WM), glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), steel bar wire mesh (CSM), steel reinforced grout (SRG). The Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method can be useful to evaluate the most optimal strengthening technique for a fast, effective and massive use plan in Peru. The results of using MCDM with 10 criteria indicate that the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG) methods are the most suitable for a massive reinforcement application in Lima.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2013

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites consist of carbon fibers in a polymer matrix. Recently, CFRP composites having high thermal stability and low outgassing are finding their use in high performance materials for aerospace and electronics applications under high temperature and high vacuum conditions. Cyanate ester resin is one of the most suitable matrix resins for this purpose. In this study, proper combination of cyanate ester and catalyst, curing behavior, and cure cycle were determined by chemorheology. Optimum condition was found to be catalyst content of 100 ppm and curing temperature of $150^{\circ}C$. Thermal stability and outgassing of cured resin composition were analyzed and the results showed thermal decomposition temperature of $385^{\circ}C$ and total mass loss of 0.29%. The CFRP prepregs and subsequent composites were fabricated by predetermined resin composition and the cure condition. Tensile moduli of the composites were compared with theoretical models and the results were very consistent.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.385-397
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• 2017

Currently, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) plate bonding is used quite extensively as a strengthening method. In this technique, a composite CFRP plate or sheet of relatively small thickness is bonded with an adhesion material to steel or concrete structure in order to improve its structural behavior and strength. The sheets or plates do not require much space and give a composite action between the adherents. In this study, the rotation capacity of CFRP-strengthened cold-formed steel (CFS) beams has been evaluated through numerical investigation. Studies on different structural levels have been performed. At the beam level, C-section has been adopted with different values of profile thickness, web height, and flange width. At the connection level, a web bolted moment resistant type of connection using through plate has been adopted. In web-bolted connections without CFRP strengthening, premature web buckling results in early loss of strength. Hence, CFRP sheets and plates with different mechanical properties and geometric configurations have been examined to delay web and flange buckling and to produce relatively high moment strength and rotation capacity. The numerical results reveal that CFRP strengthening may increase strength, initial stiffness, and rotation capacity when compared with the case without strengthening.