• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.255-268
• /
• 2017

Fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) are widely used to strengthen steel structures and retrofitting of existing structures due to its excellent properties. This paper reviews the use of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) in strengthening steel and concrete structures. The paper discusses the use of FRP in strengthening of steel bridges, uses of FRP in repairing of corroded structures and the behaviour of different adhesives. The paper then deals with the FRP strengthened hollow sections and the different failure experienced. The paper then reviewed the current state of art used in strengthening tubular structures and focusing on FRP in strengthening of joints.

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

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.64 no.5
• /
• pp.557-566
• /
• 2017

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets are the most efficient structural materials in terms of strength to weight ratio and its application in strengthening and retrofitting of a structure or structural elements are inevitable. The performance enhancement of structural elements without increasing the cross sectional area and flexible nature are the major advantages of FRP in retrofitting/strengthening work. This research article presents a detailed study on the inelastic response of conventional and retrofitted Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) subjected to quasi-static loading. The hysteretic behaviour, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation and damage index are the parameters employed to analyse the efficacy of FRP strengthening of brick in-filled RC frames. Repair and retrofitting of brick infilled RC frame shows an improved load carrying and damage tolerance capacity than control frame.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.117-128
• /
• 2014

Numerous investigations of RC beams strengthened in shear with externally-bonded (EB) fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets, plates and strips have been successfully conducted in recent years. These valuable studies have highlighted a number of influencing parameters that are not captured by the design guidelines. The objective of this study was: (1) to highlight experimentally and analytically the influential parameters on the shear contribution of FRP to RC beams strengthened in shear using EB FRP sheets and strips; and (2) to develop a set of transparent, coherent, and evolutionary design equations to calculate the shear resistance of RC beams strengthened in shear. In the experimental part of this study, 12 tests were performed on 4,520-mm-long T-beams. The specimens were strengthened in shear using carbon FRP (CFRP) strips and sheets. The test variables were: (1) the presence or absence of internal transverse-steel reinforcement; (2) use of FRP sheets versus FRP strips; and (3) the axial rigidity of the EB FRP reinforcement. In the analytical part of this study, new design equations were proposed to consider the effect of transverse-steel in addition to other influential parameters on the shear contribution of FRP. The accuracy of the proposed equations has been verified in this study by predicting the FRP shear contribution of experimentally tested RC beams.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-20
• /
• 2013

There is an abundance of research on the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structural elements such as beams, columns and slabs with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Less research by comparison has been conducted on the strengthening of RC beam-column connections and the majority of such research has been predominantly experimental to date. Few existing experimental studies have reported extensive instrumentation of test specimens which in turn makes understanding the behavior of the connections and especially the contributions made by the FRP difficult to ascertain. In addition, there has been even more limited research on the analytical and numerical modelling of FRP-strengthened connections. In this paper, detailed descriptions of key strategies to model FRP-strengthened RC connections with finite elements are provided. An extensively instrumented and comprehensively documented set of experiments on FRP-strengthened connections is firstly presented and finite element models are then constructed using ANSYS. The study shows that the finite element approach is able to capture the overall behavior of the test specimens including the failure mode as well as the behavior of the FRP which will most importantly lead to a detailed understanding of the FRP and the future development of rational analytical models. The finite element models are, however, unable to model the stiffness of the connections with accuracy in the ultimate load range of response.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.73 no.4
• /
• pp.381-395
• /
• 2020

Study on the inelastic response of bare and masonry infilled Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames repaired using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) subjected to quasi- static loading is presented in the work. The hysteresis behaviour, stiffness retention, energy dissipation and damage index are the parameters employed to analyze the efficacy of FRP strengthening of bare and brick in-filled RC frames. It is observed that there is a significant improvement in load carrying capacity of brick infilled frame over bare RC frame. Also FRP strengthened brick infilled frame performs much better than FRP repaired bare frame under quasi static loading. Repair and retrofitting of brick infilled RC frame shows an improved load carrying and damage tolerance capacity than control frame.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.671-692
• /
• 2016

FRP stay-in-place (SIP) formworks are designed as a support for casting concrete and as a tension reinforcement when concrete is cured. Bond development between SIP formwork and concrete is critical for FRP tension element to be effective. This paper reports the bond strength between FRP formwork and concrete for different interfacial treatments. A novel experimental setup is prepared for observing the bond behaviour. Three different adhesives with varying workability have been investigated. Along with the load-deformation characteristics, bond slip and strains in the formwork have been measured. A finite element numerical simulation was conducted for the experiments to understand the underlying mechanism. The results show that the adhesive bonding has the best bond strength.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.369-382
• /
• 2020

This paper presents a discussion of the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) when applied for the analysis of concrete elements reinforced with glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. The purpose of such nonlinear FEA model development is to create a tool that can be used for numerical parametric studies which can be used to extend the existing (and limited) experiment database. The presented research focuses on the numerical analyses of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP longitudinal and shear reinforcements. FEA of concrete members reinforced with linear elastic brittle reinforcements (like GFRP) presents unique challenges when compared to the analysis of members reinforced with plastic (steel) reinforcements, which are discussed in the paper. Specifically, the behaviour and failure of GFRP reinforced members are strongly influenced by the compressive response of concrete and thus modelling of concrete behaviour is essential for proper analysis. FEA was performed using the commercial software ABAQUS. A damaged-plasticity model was utilized to simulate the concrete behaviour. The influence of tension, compression, dilatancy, mesh, and reinforcement modelling was studied to replicate experimental test data of beams previously tested at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Recommendations for the finite element modelling of beams reinforced with GFRP longitudinal and shear reinforcements are offered. The knowledge gained from this research allows for the development of a rational methodology for modelling GFRP reinforced concrete beams, which subsequently can be used for extensive parametric studies and the formation of informed recommendations to design standards.