• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.803-823
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• 2011

In this paper, the three dimensional Parallel Realistic Failure Process Analysis ($RFPA^{3D}$-Parallel) code based on micromechanical model is employed to investigate the bonding behavior in FRP sheet bonded to concrete in single shear test. In the model, the heterogeneity of brittle disordered material at a meso-scale was taken into consideration in order to realistically demonstrate the mechanical characteristics of FRP-to-concrete. Modified Mohr-coulomb strength criterion with tension cut-off, where a stressed element can damage in shear or in tension, was adopted and a stiffness degradation approach was used to simulate the initiation, propagation and growth of microcracks in the model. In addition, a Master-Slave parallel operation control technique was adopted to implement the parallel computation of a large numerical model. Parallel computational results of debonding of FRP-concrete visually reproduce the spatial and temporal debonding failure progression of microcracks in FRP sheet bonded to concrete, which agrees well with the existing testing results in laboratory. The numerical approach in this study provides a useful tool for enhancing our understanding of cracking and debonding failure process and mechanism of FRP-concrete and our ability to predict mechanical performance and reliability of these FRP sheet bonded to concrete structures.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.147-168
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• 2017

Over the past couple decades, externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have emerged as a repair and strengthening material for many concrete infrastructure applications. This paper presents an analytical investigation of the use of carbon FRP (CFRP) for a specific problem that occurs in concrete bridge girders wherein the girder ends are damaged by excessive exposure to deicing salts and numerous freezing/thawing cycles. A 3D finite element (FE) model of a full scale prestressed concrete (PC) I-girder is used to investigate the effect of damage to the cover concrete and stirrups in the end region of the girder. Parametric studies are performed using externally bonded CFRP shear laminates to determine the most effective repair schemes for the damaged end region under a short shear span-to-depth ratio. Experimental results on shear pull off tests of CFRP laminates that have undergone accelerated aging are used to calibrate a bond stress-slip model for the interface between the FRP and concrete substrate and approximate the reduced bond stress-slip properties associated with exposure to the environment that causes this type of end region damage. The results of these analyses indicate that this particular application of this material can be effective in recovering the original strength of PC bridge girders with damaged end regions, even after environmental aging.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.161-184
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• 2021

Strengthening of reinforced concrete beams with externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer plates/sheets technique has become widespread in the last two decades. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on simply supported RC beams, a few studies have been carried out on continuous beams strengthened with FRP composites. This paper presents a simple uniaxial nonlinear analytical model that is able to accurately estimate the load carrying capacity and the behaviour of damaged RC continuous beams flexural strengthened with externally bonded prestressed composite plates on both of the upper and lower fibers, taking into account the thermal load. The model is based on equilibrium and deformations compatibility requirements in and all parts of the strengthened beam, i.e., the damaged concrete beam, the FRP plate and the adhesive layer. The flexural analysis results and analytical predictions for the prestressed composite strengthened damaged RC continuous beams were compared and showed very good agreement in terms of the debonding load, yield load, and ultimate load. The use of composite materials increased the ultimate load capacity compared with the non strengthened beams. The major objective of the current model is to help engineers' model FRP strengthened RC continuous beams in a simple manner. Finally, this research is helpful for the understanding on mechanical behaviour of the interface and design of the FRP-damaged RC hybrid structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.803-816
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• 2022

Composite materials are effective in forming externally bonded reinforcements which find applications related to existing structures repair, attributed to their high strength-to-weight ratio and ease of installation. Among various composites, fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) have somewhat been largely accepted as a commonly utilized composite for such purposes. It is only recently that steel fibres have been considered as additional members of the FRP fibre family, intuitively termed as steel reinforced polymer (SRP). Owing to its low cost and permissibility of fibre bending at sharp corners, SRP is rapidly becoming a viable contender to other FRP systems. This paper investigates the bond behaviour of SRP-concrete joints with different bonded lengths (50, 75, 100, 150 and 300 mm) and widths (15, 30, 40, 50, and 75 mm) using single-lap shear tests. The experimental specimens contain SRP strips with a fixed density of steel fibres (0.472 cords/mm) bonded to the face of concrete prisms. The load responses were obtained and compared in terms of corresponding load and slip boundaries of the constant region and the peak loads. The failure modes of SRP composites are discussed, and the range of effective bonded length is evaluated herein. In the end, a new analytical model was proposed to estimate the SRP-concrete bond strength using a genetic algorithm, which outperforms 22 existing FRP-concrete bond strength models.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.231-244
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• 2001

The strengthening of reinforced concrete structures using externally bonded steel or advanced fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composites is becoming increasingly common. A key factor affecting the behaviour and reliability of such strengthened structures is the bond strength between the steel or FRP plate and the concrete substrate. Several different experimental set-ups have previously been used to determine bond strength. This paper presents a careful finite element analysis of the stress distributions in these test set-ups. Results show that stress distributions can be significantly different for different set-ups, for similar materials and geometry.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.579-584
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• 2003

For strengthening deteriorated concrete structures, externally bonded FRP sheets or plates using epoxy resins are widely used. For the external FRP composites to be effective in improving the performance of the structure, bond between FRP composites and concrete is required. In general, the most frequently observed failure mode in FRP strengthened concrete structures is debonding failure at the interfacial section between FRP and concrete. Therefore, it is very important to find out the interfacial behavior properties. This paper presents experimental results of the relationship of concrete and FRP sheet for some conditions including concrete compressive strength, concrete surface preparation to observe the bond behavior between concrete and FRP sheet and various anchorage types to increase the bond capacity of FRP sheet.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.281-300
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• 2014

This study presents the experimental results of twenty three reinforced concrete beams with rectangular web openings externally strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) composites bonded around openings. All tested beams had the same geometry and reinforcement details. At openings locations, the stirrups intercepted the openings were cut during fabrication of reinforcement cage to simulate the condition of inclusion of an opening in an existing beam. Several design parameters are considered including the opening dimensions and location in the shear zone, the wrapping configurations, and the amount and the type of the FRP composites in the vicinity of the openings. The wrapping configurations of FRP included: sheets, strips, U-shape strips, and U-shape strips with bundles of FRP strands placed at the top and sides of the beam forming a fan under the strips to achieve closed wrapping. The effect of these parameters on the failure modes, the ultimate load, and the beam stiffness were investigated. The shear contribution of FRP on the shear capacity of tested beams with web openings was estimated according to ACI Committee 440-08, Canadian Standards S6-06, and Khalifa et al. model and examined against the test results. A modification factor to account for the dimensions of opening chords was applied to the predicted gain in the shear capacity according to ACI 440-08 and CSA S6-06 for bonded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) around openings. The analytical results after incorporating the modification factor into the codes guidelines showed good agreement with the test results.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.75-80
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• 2001

This paper investigates the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with externally bonded fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) sheets is investigated in this work. FRP is attractive for strengthening the RC beams due to its good tensile strength, low weight, resistance to corrosion, and easy applicability. A simple and direct analytical procedure for evaluating the ultimate flexural capacity of FRP strengthened reinforced concrete (SRC) beams is presented using the equilibrium equations and compatibility of strains. Upper and lower limits of FRP sheet area to ensure the ductile behavior are established. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of design variables such as sheet area, sheet stiffness and strength, concrete compression strength, and steel reinforcement ratio. The analytical procedure is compared with results of experimental data available in the literature.

• 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.