• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.705-733
• /
• 2012

In this work, an experimental examination was carried out to study interfacial stresses developed at the junction zones between carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) fabrics (~1 mm thickness) and tensile concrete portion in CFRP retrofitted RC beams. In this respect, initially six similar RC beams of $150{\times}150{\times}1000mm$ dimensions were prepared. Three of which were strengthened with CFRP fabrics at the tensile side of the beams. Furthermore, a notch was cut at the center of the bottom surface for all of the studied beams. The notch was 15 mm deep and ran across the full width of tension side of the beams. The mentioned interfacial stresses could be calculated from strains measured using strain gauges mounted on the interface zone of the tensile concrete and the CFRP sheet. Based on the results obtained, it is shown that interfacial stresses developed between CFRP fabrics and RC beam had a noticeable effect on debonding failure mode of the latter. The load carrying capacity of CFRP strengthened RC specimens increased ~75% compared to that of the control RC beams. This was attributed to the enhancement of flexural mode of the former. Finally, finite element analysis was also utilized to verify the measured experimental results.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.117-123
• /
• 2006

Woven fabrics composites are used as primary structural components in many applications because of their superior properties that offer high specific strength and stiffness. However, the complexity of the fabric structure makes understanding of their failure behavior very difficult. Also, laminate woven fabrics CFRP have unique failure mechanisms such as fiber bridging, fiber/matrix crack and so on. In particular, the delamination phenomenon of the composite materials is one of the most frequent failure mechanisms. So, we estimated interlaminar fracture and damage in composites using as ENF specimen by a 3 point bending test. And AE characteristics were examined for crack propagation on plain woven CFRP. We obtained the following conclusions from the results of the evaluation of the 3 point bending fracture test and AE characteristic estimation. AE counts of maximum crack length were obtained as $85.97{\times}10^4\;and\;93{\times}10^3\;for\;a_0/L=0.3$ and 0.6, respectively. Also the maximum amplitudes were over 80dB at both $a_0/L=0.3\;and\;0.6$. $G_{IIc}$ at that's $a_0/L$ ratio were obtained with $1.07kJ/m^2\;and\;3.79kJ/m^2$.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.899-916
• /
• 2015

Upgrading or strengthening of existing reinforced concrete (RC) infrastructure is an emerging demand nowadays. Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique is very promising approach for flexural strengthening of RC members. However, premature failure such as concrete cover separation failure have been a main concern in utilizing this technique. In this study, U-wrap end anchorage with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabrics is proposed to eliminate the concrete cover separation failure. Experimental programs were conducted to the consequence of U-wrap end anchorage on the flexurally strengthened RC beams with NSM-steel. A total of eight RC rectangular beam specimens were tested. One specimen was kept unstrengthened as a reference; three specimens were strengthened with NSM-steel bars and the remaining four specimens were strengthened with NSM-steel bars and U-wrap end anchorage using CFRP fabrics. A 3D non-linear finite element model (FEM) was developed to simulate the flexural response of the tested specimens. It is revealed that NSM-steel (with and without end-anchors) significantly improved the flexural strength; moreover decreased deflection and strains compared with reference specimen. Furthermore, NSM-steel with end anchorage strengthened specimens revealed the greater flexural strength and improve failure modes (premature to flexure) compared with the NSM-steel without end anchorage specimens. The results also ensured that the U-wrap end anchorage completely eliminate the concrete cover separation failure.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.199-220
• /
• 2018

In this study, the effects of sulphuric acid on the mechanical performance and the durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) specimens were investigated. The carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) fabrics were used to evaluate the performances of the confined and unconfined ECC specimens under static and cyclic loading in the acidic environment. In addition, the use of CFRP and BFRP fabrics as a rehabilitation technique was also studied for the specimens exposed to the sulphuric acid environment. The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber with a fraction of 2% was used in the research. Two different PVA-ECC concretes were produced using low lime fly ash (LCFA) and high lime fly ash (HCFA) with the fly ash-to-OPC ratio of 1.2. Unwrapped PVA-ECC specimens were also produced as a reference concrete and all concrete specimens were continuously immersed in 5% sulphuric acid solution ($H_2SO_4$). The mechanical performance and the durability of specimens were evaluated by means of the visual inspection, weight change, static and cyclic loading, and failure mode. In addition, microscopic changes of the PVA-ECC specimens due to sulphuric acid attack were also assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the macroscale behavior of the specimens. Results indicated that PVA-ECC specimens produced with low lime fly ash (LCFA) showed superior performance than the specimens produced with high lime fly ash (HCFA) in the acidic environment. In addition, confinement of ECC specimens with BFRP and CFRP fabrics significantly improved compressive strength, ductility, and durability of the specimens. PVA-ECC specimens wrapped with carbon FRP fabric showed better mechanical performance and durability properties than the specimens wrapped with basalt FRP fabric. Both FRP materials can be used as a rehabilitation material in the acidic environment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.427-439
• /
• 2007

The exploitation of fibre reinforced polymer composites, as external reinforcement is an evergreen and well-known technique for improving the structural performance of reinforced concrete structures. The demand to use FRP composites in the civil engineering industry is mainly due to its high strength, light weight, and stiffness. This paper exemplifies the shear strength of partially precracked reinforced concrete rectangular beams repaired with externally bonded Bi-Directional Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Fabrics strips. All specimens were cast in the laboratory environment without any internal shear reinforcement. The test parameters were longitudinal tensile reinforcement, shear span to effective depth ratio, spacing of CFRP strips, and orientation of CFRP reinforcement. It mainly focuses on the shear capacity and modes of failure of the CFRP strengthened shear beams. Results have shown that the CFRP repaired beams attained a shear enhancement of 32% and 107.64% greater than the control beams. This study underscores that the CFRP strip technique significantly enhanced the shear capacity of precracked reinforced concrete rectangular beams without any internal shear reinforcement.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2010

In recent, the capacity of a commercial wind power has reached the range of 6 MW, with large plants being built world-wide on land and offshore. The rotor blades and the nacelle are exposed to external loads. Wind power system concepts are reviewed, and loadings by wind and gravity as important factors for the mechanical performance of the materials are considered. So, the mechanical properties of fiber composite materials are discussed. Plain woven fabrics Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) are advanced materials which combine the characteristics of the light weight, high stiffness, strength and chemical stability. However, Plain woven CFRP composite have a lot of problems, especially delamination, compared with common materials. Therefore, the aim of this work is to estimate the mechanical properties using the tensile specimen and to evaluate strain using the CNF specimen on plain woven CFRP composites. For the strain, we tried to apply to plain woven CFRP using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method and strain gauge. DIC method can evaluate a strain change so it can predict a location of fracture.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.623-643
• /
• 2013

Concrete filled steel tubular members (CFST) become a popular choice for modern building construction due to their numerous structural benefits and at the same time aging of those structures and member deterioration are often reported. Therefore, actions like implement of new materials and strengthening techniques become essential to combat this problem. The application of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) with concrete structures has been widely reported whereas researches related to strengthening of steel structures using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) have been limited. The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the suitability of CFRP to strengthening of CFST members under flexure. There were three wrapping schemes such as Full wrapping at the bottom (fibre bonded throughout entire length of beam), U-wrapping (fibre bonded at the bottom throughout entire length and extended upto neutral axis) and Partial wrapping (fibre bonded in between loading points at the bottom) introduced. Beams strengthened by U-wrapping exhibited more enhancements in moment carrying capacity and stiffness compared to the beams strengthened by other wrapping schemes. The beams of partial wrapping exhibited delamination of fibre and were failed even before attaining the ultimate load of control beam. The test results showed that the presence of CFRP in the outer limits was significantly enhanced the moment carrying capacity and stiffness of the beam. Also, a non linear finite element model was developed using the software ANSYS 12.0 to validate the analytical results such as load-deformation and the corresponding failure modes.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.205-214
• /
• 2018

This paper deals with the experimental study on the hygrothermal ageing effect to the strength of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) materials for marine leisure boat manufactured by vacuum assisted resin infusion method. The experiments performed consist of tensile, flexural and shear tests according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Korean Industrial Standards (KS) test methods. Test coupons are varied from uni-directional(UD, $0^{\circ}$, $90^{\circ}$), Bi-Directional (BD), and Double-Bias (DB) carbon fiber fabrics in conjunction with epoxy resin. The results of tensile test show that tensile strength reduces significantly while not the same degree of reduction is observed for elasticity modulus with respect to the existence of hygrothermal ageing effect. This implies that the tensile strain induced from external load holds steady values but ultimate strength values change widely under hygrothermal ageing effect. In case of the flexural test, $0^{\circ}$ UD shows more strength reduction than $90^{\circ}$ UD while BD has reduced values in both flexural strength and elasticity modulus under hygrothermal ageing effect. It is learned that the bending strain induced from external load and ultimate strength values are reduced with respect to hygrothermal ageing effect. Shear test performed only on DB materials, and the results show marginal reduction in ultimate strength and moderate reduction in elasticity modulus. This means that the shear strain varies more than ultimate shear strength with respect to hygrothermal ageing effect. The experiment conducted in this paper clearly demonstrates the differences in material properties of the CFRP for the consideration of hygrothermal ageing effect. Findings obtained from this experimental study can serve as a fundamental input data for the realistic structural responses of marine leisure boat built in CFRP materials.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.6
• /
• pp.526-541
• /
• 2023

Wooden structures are widely used, particularly in earthquake zones, owing to their light weight, ease of application, and resistance to the external environment. In this study, we aimed to improve the mechanical properties of laminated timber beams using novel hybrid systems [carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and wire rope]. Within the scope of this study, it is expected that using wood, which is an environmentally friendly and sustainable building element, will be more economical and safe than the reinforced concrete and steel elements currently used to pass through wide openings. The structural behavior of the hybrid-reinforced laminated timber beams was determined under the loading system. The experimental findings showed that the highest increase in the values of laminated beams reinforced with steel ropes was obtained with the 2N reinforcement, with a maximum load of 38 kN and a displacement of 137 mm. Thus, a load increase of 168% and displacement increase of 275% compared with the reference sample were obtained. Compared with the reference sample, a load increase of 92% and a displacement increase of 14% were obtained. Carbon fabrics placed between the layers with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) prevented crack development and provided significant interlayer connections. Consequently, the fabrics placed between the laminated wooden beams with the innovative reinforcement system will not disrupt the aesthetics or reduce the effect of earthquake forces, and significant reductions can be achieved in these sections.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.215-225
• /
• 2016

High performance materials such as Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) are often used for retrofitting structures against blast loads due to its ductility and strength. The effectiveness of retrofit materials needs to be precisely evaluated for the retrofitting design based on the dynamic material responses under blast loads. In this study, the blast resistance of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) and Kevlar/Glass hybrid fabric (K/G) retrofitted reinforced concrete (RC) wall is analyzed by using the explicit analysis code LS-DYNA, which accommodates the high-strain rate dependent material models. Also, the retrofit effectiveness of FRP fabrics is evaluated by comparing the analysis results for non-retrofitted and retrofitted walls. The verification of the analysis is performed through comparisons with the previous experimental results.