Experimental investigations and verification of debonding strain of RHSC continuous beams strengthened in flexure with externally bonded FRPs

Although many in-situ RC beams are of continuous constructions, there has been very little research on the behavior of such beams with external reinforcement. This article presents an experimental program conducted to study the flexural behavior and redistribution of moment of reinforced high strength concrete (RHSC) continuous beams strengthened with carbon and glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP and GFRP) sheets. The program consists of six RHSC continuous (two-span) beams with overall dimensions equal to 250 × 150 × 6000 mm. One beam was not strengthened and was tested as a control beam. Five beams were strengthened with CFRP and GFRP in flexure along their sagging and hogging regions. The main parameters including type of FRP (GFRP or CFRP), the different ratios of CFRP sheet and effectiveness of end anchorage. The test results showed that the use of GFRP sheet in strengthening of continuous beam reduced loss in ductility and moment redistribution but it did not significantly increase the ultimate strength of them. The use of end anchorage in strengthened continuous beams increased the ultimate strength and moment redistribution. The moment enhancement ratio of the strengthened continuous beams was significantly higher than the ultimate load enhancement ratio in the same beam. Also existing international codes and model such as ACI, fib, JSCE, Teng and Toutanji for prediction of IC debonding strain or stress of strengthened continuous beams are verified. Verifications were carried out based on the test results in this research and the published literature on RC continuous beams strengthened with FRP.     

Effect of steel and synthetic fibers on flexural behavior of high-strength concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars

Six high-strength concrete beam specimens reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars were constructed and tested. Three of the beams were reinforced with carbon FRP (CFRP) bars and the other three beams were reinforced with glass FRP (GFRP) bars as flexural reinforcements. Steel fibers and polyolefin synthetic fibers were used as reinforcing discrete fibers. An investigation was performed on the influence of the addition of fibers on load-carrying capacity, cracking response, and ductility. In addition, the test results were compared with the predictions for the ultimate flexural moment. The addition of fibers increased the first-cracking load, ultimate flexural strength, and ductility, and also mitigated the large crack width of the FRP bar-reinforced concrete beams.     

CFRP筋增强ECC梁弯曲性能试验研究

为研究碳纤维增强树脂复合材料(Carbon fiber reinforced polymer,CFRP)筋/超高韧性纤维增强水泥基复合材料(Engineered cementitious composite,ECC)梁的抗弯性能,对3根CFRP筋/ECC梁、1根玻璃纤维增强树脂复合材料(Glass fiber reinforced polymer,GFRP)筋/梁和1根CFRP筋混凝土梁进行了四点弯曲试验,分析了配筋率、纤维增强树脂复合材料(Fiber reinforced polymer,FRP)筋类型和基体类型对梁抗弯性能的影响。试验结果表明:CFRP筋/ECC梁与GFRP筋/ECC梁和CFRP筋混凝土梁类似,均经历了弹性阶段、带裂缝工作阶段和破坏阶段;配筋率对CFRP筋/ECC梁的受弯性能影响较大。随着配筋率的增加,CFRP筋/ECC梁的承载能力不断提高,延性性能逐渐减弱;ECC材料优异的应变硬化能力和受压延性,使得CFRP筋/ECC梁的极限承载能力和变形能力均优于CFRP筋混凝土梁;由于ECC材料多裂缝开裂能力,CFRP筋/ECC梁开裂后,纵筋表面应变分布比CFRP筋混凝土梁更均匀; 由于聚乙烯醇(Polyvinyl alcohol,PVA)纤维的桥联作用,CFRP筋/ECC梁破坏时,其表面出现了大量的细密裂缝,且能保持较好的完整性和自复位能力;正常使用阶段,CFRP筋/ECC梁的最大弯曲裂缝宽度均小于CFRP筋混凝土梁。最后,根据试验结果,建立了基于等效应力图的CFRP筋/ECC梁弯曲承载力简化计算模型,确定模型中的相关系数。由简化模型计算的极限承载力与试验结果具有较好的相关性。      

Structural behaviour of RC beams with external flexural and flexural–shear strengthening by FRP sheets

This paper presents experimental research on reinforced concrete (RC) beams with external flexural and flexural–shear strengthening by fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets consisting of carbon FRP (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP). The work carried out has examined both the flexural and flexural–shear strengthening capacities of retrofitted RC beams and has indicated how different strengthening arrangements of CFRP and GFRP sheets affect behaviour of the RC beams strengthened. Research output shows that the flexural–shear strengthening arrangement is much more effective than the flexural one in enhancing the stiffness, the ultimate strength and hardening behaviour of the RC beam. In addition theoretical calculations are developed to estimate the bending and shear capacities of the beams tested, which are compared with the corresponding experimental results.     

Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams retrofitted with hybrid fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) under sustaining loads

This paper reports experimental studies of reinforced concrete (RC) beams retrofitted with new hybrid fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) system consisting carbon FRP (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP). The objective of this study is to examine effect of hybrid FRPs on structural behavior of retrofitted RC beams and to investigate if different sequences of CFRP and GFRP sheets of the hybrid FRPs have influences on improvement of strengthening RC beams. Toward that goal, 14 RC beams are fabricated and retrofitted with hybrid FRPs having different combinations of CFRP and GFRP sheets. The beams are loaded with different magnitudes prior to retrofitting in order to investigate the effect of initial loading on the flexural behavior of the retrofitted beam. The main test variables are sequences of attaching hybrid FRP layers and magnitudes of preloads. Under loaded condition, beams are retrofitted with two or three layers of hybrid FRPs, then the load increases until the beams reach failure. Test results conclude that strengthening effects of hybrid FRPs on ductility and stiffness of RC beams depend on orders of FRP layers.     

Behavior of full-scale reinforced concrete beams retrofitted for shear and flexural with FRP laminates

Four full-scale reinforced concrete beams were replicated from an existing bridge. The original beams were substantially deficient in shear strength, particularly for projected increase of traffic loads. Of the four replicate beams, one served as a control and the remaining three were implemented with varying configurations of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP) composites to simulate the retrofit of the existing structure. CFRP unidirectional sheets were placed to increase flexural capacity and GFRP unidirectional sheets were utilized to mitigate shear failure. Four-point bending tests were conducted. Load, deflection and strain data were collected. Fiber optic gauges were utilized in high flexural and shear regions and conventional resistive gauges were placed in eighteen locations to provide behavioral understanding of the composite material strengthening. Fiber optic readings were compared to conventional gauges.Results from this study show that the use of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) composites for structural strengthening provides significant static capacity increases approximately 150% when compared to unstrengthened sections. Load at first crack and post cracking stiffness of all beams was increased primarily due to flexural CFRP. Test results suggest that beams retrofit with both the designed GFRP and CFRP should well exceed the static demand of 658 kN m sustaining up to 868 kN m applied moment. The addition of GFRP alone for shear was sufficient to offset the lack of steel stirrups and allow conventional RC beam failure by yielding of the tension steel. This allowed ultimate deflections to be 200% higher than the pre-existing shear deficient beam. If bridge beams were retrofit with only the designed CFRP failure would still result from diagonal tension cracks, albeit at a 31% greater load. Beams retrofit with only the designed shear GFRP would fail in flexure at the mid-span at an equivalent 31% gain over the control specimen, failing mechanism in this case being yielding of the tension steel. Successful monitoring of strain using fiber optics was achieved. However, careful planning tempered by engineering judgement is necessary as the location and gauge length of the fiber optic gauge will determine the usefulness of the collected data.     

Behaviour of hybrid FRP–UHPC beams subjected to static flexural loading

This paper provides the experimental results of a new hybrid beam intended for use in bridge applications. The hybrid beams were made up of pultruded Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) hollow box section beams strengthened with a layer of Ultra-High-Performance-Concrete (UHPC) on top and either a sheet of Carbon FRP (CFRP) or Steel FRP (SFRP) on the bottom of the beam. Four hybrid FRP–UHPC beams were tested along with one control GFRP hollow box beam under four-point static flexural loading. Two types of beams were tested (Phase I and Phase II), which incorporated different connection mechanisms at the GFRP–UHPC interface. It was concluded that the hybrid beams had higher flexural strength and stiffness than the control beam, where the beams reinforced with SFRP showed greater percent cost effectiveness than beams reinforced with CFRP. In addition, the improved connection mechanism used in Phase II beams was found to provide adequate interface bond strength to maintain full composite action until ultimate failure.     

Performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by hybrid FRP laminates

In the last two decades, the use of advanced composite materials such as Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) structural elements has been increasing. Research and design guidelines concluded that externally bonded FRP could increase the capacity of RC elements efficiently. However, the linear stress–strain characteristics of FRP up to failure and lack of yield plateau have a negative impact on the overall ductility of the strengthened RC elements. Use of hybrid FRP laminates, which consist of a combination of either carbon and glass fibers, or glass and aramid fibers, changes the behaviour of the material to a non-linear behaviour. This paper aims to study the performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by hybrid FRP laminates.

This paper presents an experimental program conducted to study the behaviour of RC beams strengthened with hybrid fiber reinforced polymer (HFRP) laminates. The program consists of a total of twelve T-beams with overall dimensions equal to 460 × 300 × 3250 mm. The beams were tested under cyclic loading up to failure to examine its flexural behaviour. Different reinforcement ratios, fiber directions, locations and combinations of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates were attached to the beams to determine the best strengthening scheme. Different percentages of steel reinforcement were also used. An analytical model based on the stress–strain characteristics of concrete, steel and FRP was adopted. Recommendations and design guidelines of RC beams strengthened by FRP and HFRP laminates are introduced.     

Deflection behaviour of FRP reinforced concrete beams and slabs: An experimental investigation

The flexural response of FRP RC elements is investigated through load–deflection tests on 24 RC beams and slabs with glass FRP (GFRP) and carbon FRP (CFRP) reinforcement covering a wide range of reinforcement ratios. Rebar and concrete strains around a crack inducer are used to establish moment–curvature relationships and evaluate the shear and flexural components of mid-span deflections. It is concluded that the contribution of shear and bond induced deformations can be of major significance in FRP RC elements having moderate to high reinforcement ratios. Existing equations to calculate short-term deflection of FRP RC elements are discussed and compared to experimental values.     

Studies on ductility and evaluation of minimum flexural reinforcement in RC beams

Some experimental investigations on ductility and prediction of minimum flexural reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) beams are reported. The minimum flexural reinforcement was evaluated using optimum ductility in RC beams. Beams of size 100 mm, 200 mm and 400 mm were tested, which were designed with varying percentages of flexural reinforcement i.e. 0.15, 0.30, 0.60 and 1.0. The beams were tested under four-point loading to study the flexural behaviour under uniform bending moment. The experimentally obtained average compressive strength of concrete was 30 MPa. The influence of beam size (depth) on cracking and normalised ultimate flexural strength, ductility and overall average rotation has been studied. The cracking in RC beams is complex phenomenon in small size beams, while the cracking strength decreases as the depth increases beyond 200 mm. The flexural strength of RC beams, from the present study, appears to decrease as the depth increases. The ductility of RC beams increases as the percentage of flexural reinforcement increases. The ductility number has been derived from dimensional analysis using fracture mechanics principles. The ductility of RC beams decreases as the depth of beams increases. An optimum percentage of flexural reinforcement has been established using optimum ductility number, N_p, which is equal to 0.20. The minimum flexural reinforcement was found to decrease as the beam depth increases, and decreases as the yield strength of reinforcement increases.     

U形CFRP条带混锚加固混凝土梁抗剪试验

为解决纯粘贴U形纤维增强聚合物基复合材料（FRP）加固钢筋混凝土梁中FRP端部容易发生剥离破坏等问题,自主研发了对纤维布条带端部进行自锁锚固的方法和锚板,提出了端锚与粘贴并用的混锚U形条带抗剪加固方法。通过2根未加固梁、1根纯粘贴和2根混锚U形碳纤维增强聚合物基复合材料（CFRP）带抗剪加固梁的对比试验,证实了混锚抗剪加固的有效性：混锚能够对纤维带端部进行可靠锚固,阻止端部剥离破坏的发生,实现纤维拉断破坏,大幅度提高材料强度利用率。混锚加固在抑制混凝土梁斜裂缝开展、延缓箍筋屈服、提高箍筋和CFRP的极限应变以及提高抗剪承载力等多个方面的表现均明显优于纯粘贴加固。     

A new ductility model of reinforced concrete beams strengthened using Fiber Reinforced Polymer reinforcement

Despite the superior performance of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as compared with conventional steel bars in terms of high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and high fatigue performance, FRP strengthened beams exhibit lower ductility due to the linear elastic response of the FRP reinforcement. Several ductility and deformability models were developed in order to account for the elastic behavior, i.e. high elastic energy, of FRP when used for strengthening existing steel reinforced concrete or for new construction. In this paper, a new ductility expression that relates the deformability of a reinforced concrete (RC) structure strengthened using FRP to the energy dissipated, was developed. The developed expression also considers the type of loading, static or fatigue. The new expression was validated against experimental test results of RC beams strengthened using prestressed Near Surface Mounted (NSM) carbon FRP un-fatigued and fatigued beams. Furthermore, the ductility index at which the deformability of the structure equals the ratio of total energy dissipated to elastic energy, defined as the optimum ductility index, was investigated for both the un-fatigued and fatigued beams. The prestress strain corresponding to the optimum ductility index was found to be 2830 με (the strain value can be determined using an accepted arbitrary test such as monotonic test) while no optimum ductility was achieved for the case of the un-fatigued beams. It is noteworthy that the optimum ductility index is subject to the variability of design, beam geometry, and prestressing level. Therefore, the ductility evaluation of the NSM CFRP strengthened beams was meant to give only an insight into the problem and not to propose certain limits.     

A new ductility model of reinforced concrete beams strengthened using Fiber Reinforced Polymer reinforcement

Despite the superior performance of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as compared with conventional steel bars in terms of high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and high fatigue performance, FRP strengthened beams exhibit lower ductility due to the linear elastic response of the FRP reinforcement. Several ductility and deformability models were developed in order to account for the elastic behavior, i.e. high elastic energy, of FRP when used for strengthening existing steel reinforced concrete or for new construction. In this paper, a new ductility expression that relates the deformability of a reinforced concrete (RC) structure strengthened using FRP to the energy dissipated, was developed. The developed expression also considers the type of loading, static or fatigue. The new expression was validated against experimental test results of RC beams strengthened using prestressed Near Surface Mounted (NSM) carbon FRP un-fatigued and fatigued beams. Furthermore, the ductility index at which the deformability of the structure equals the ratio of total energy dissipated to elastic energy, defined as the optimum ductility index, was investigated for both the un-fatigued and fatigued beams. The prestress strain corresponding to the optimum ductility index was found to be 2830 με (the strain value can be determined using an accepted arbitrary test such as monotonic test) while no optimum ductility was achieved for the case of the un-fatigued beams. It is noteworthy that the optimum ductility index is subject to the variability of design, beam geometry, and prestressing level. Therefore, the ductility evaluation of the NSM CFRP strengthened beams was meant to give only an insight into the problem and not to propose certain limits.     

Flexural performance of FRP reinforced concrete beams

A numerical method for estimating the curvature, deflection and moment capacity of FRP reinforced concrete beams is developed. Force equilibrium and strain compatibility equations for a beam section divided into a number of segments are numerically solved due to the non-linear behaviour of concrete. The deflection is then obtained from the flexural rigidity at mid-span section using the deflection formula for various load cases. A proposed modification to the mid-span flexural rigidity is also introduced to account for the experimentally observed wide cracks over the intermediate support of continuous FRP reinforced concrete beams.     

Deflections of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars

The aim of this study is to experimentally and theoretically investigate the flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. In this research, three types of experiments were made. First, the tensile properties of FRP and steel bars were tested, then the bond-slip behavior between bars and concrete was tested on standard specimens and, in the end, three series of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP, CFRP and steel bars were tested up to failure. The theoretical model for calculating deflections was developed, which included bond-slip behavior of FRP bars. The theoretical results were compared to the test results of beam deflections, as well to deflection results obtained by theoretical models developed by other authors.     

Flexural strengthening of RC beams using Hybrid Composite Plate (HCP): Experimental and analytical study

Hybrid Composite Plate (HCP) is a reliable recently proposed retrofitting solution for concrete structures, which is composed of a strain hardening cementitious composite (SHCC) plate reinforced with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). This system benefits from the synergetic advantages of these two composites, namely the high ductility of SHCC and the high tensile strength of CFRPs. In the material-structural of HCP, the ultra-ductile SHCC plate acts as a suitable medium for stress transfer between CFRP laminates (bonded into the pre-sawn grooves executed on the SHCC plate) and the concrete substrate by means of a connection system made by either chemical anchors, adhesive, or a combination thereof. In comparison with traditional applications of FRP systems, HCP is a retrofitting solution that (i) is less susceptible to the detrimental effect of the lack of strength and soundness of the concrete cover in the strengthening effectiveness; (ii) assures higher durability for the strengthened elements and higher protection to the FRP component in terms of high temperatures and vandalism; and (iii) delays, or even, prevents detachment of concrete substrate. This paper describes the experimental program carried out, and presents and discusses the relevant results obtained on the assessment of the performance of HCP strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams subjected to flexural loading. Moreover, an analytical approach to estimate the ultimate flexural capacity of these beams is presented, which was complemented with a numerical strategy for predicting their load-deflection behaviour. By attaching HCP to the beams' soffit, a significant increase in the flexural capacity at service, at yield initiation of the tension steel bars and at failure of the beams can be achieved, while satisfactory deflection ductility is assured and a high tensile capacity of the CFRP laminates is mobilized. Both analytical and numerical approaches have predicted with satisfactory agreement, the load-deflection response of the reference beam and the strengthened ones tested experimentally.     

Behaviour of hybrid FRP–UHPC beams in flexure under fatigue loading

The fatigue behaviour of innovative hybrid FRP–UHPC beams under flexural loading is investigated in this paper. The beams were made up of a pultruded GFRP hollow box section beam with a cast-in-place UHPC layer on top and either a CFRP or SFRP sheet bonded along the bottom. Four hybrid beams were tested under variable amplitude loading, to determine the effect of cyclic loading on flexural strength and stiffness. Analysis also included the development of a modified S–N curve and evaluation of fatigue damage using the Palmgren–Miner rule. It was found that insignificant loss in strength and stiffness occurred for all beams, where the fatigue damage estimated using the Palmgren–Miner rule overestimated the fatigue life. It was postulated, by comparison, that the hybrid beams reinforced with CFRP sheets may perform better under fatigue loading than the beams reinforced with SFRP sheets.     

恶劣环境下纤维增强聚合物片材拉伸性能

通过拉伸试验,研究了恶劣环境作用后纤维增强聚合物(FRP)片材的拉伸性能。试验参数包括恶劣环境类别和作用方式、FRP片材种类和层数。试验结果表明,常温环境下、冻融和干湿循环作用后,碳纤维增强聚合物(CFRP)片材和玻璃纤维增强聚合物(GFRP)片材的拉伸应力-应变关系近似为直线;常温环境下,CFRP片材和GFRP片材的拉伸强度和延伸率几乎不受片材层数的影响;冻融循环对GFRP片材的影响大于CFRP片材,冻融循环75次时,CFRP片材和GFRP片材的拉伸强度分别是未冻融的0.978倍和0.898倍,并且随着循环次数的增加,CFRP片材和GFRP片材拉伸强度逐渐下降;干湿循环作用对GFRP片材拉伸性能没有明显的影响。基于对有关文献及本文试验结果的分析,提出了恶劣环境下FRP片材拉伸强度的计算方法。     

Ductility of FRP plated flexural members

The design of reinforced concrete (RC) flexural members such as beams, slabs and columns is intrinsically based on the inherent ductility of the member. In reinforced concrete beams and slabs, ductility is generally achieved by using ‘under-reinforced’ sections and generally governed by the neutral axis depth parameter k_u which requires ultimate failure by concrete crushing at a specified strain ε_c. As the plates of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) plated RC beams can fracture or debond before the concrete crushes at ε_c, the k_u approach is not directly applicable. Hence, new fundamental approaches and a deeper understanding of ductility are required which are the subjects of this paper.     

Behaviour of hybrid FRP–UHPC beams in flexure under fatigue loading

The fatigue behaviour of innovative hybrid FRP–UHPC beams under flexural loading is investigated in this paper. The beams were made up of a pultruded GFRP hollow box section beam with a cast-in-place UHPC layer on top and either a CFRP or SFRP sheet bonded along the bottom. Four hybrid beams were tested under variable amplitude loading, to determine the effect of cyclic loading on flexural strength and stiffness. Analysis also included the development of a modified S–N curve and evaluation of fatigue damage using the Palmgren–Miner rule. It was found that insignificant loss in strength and stiffness occurred for all beams, where the fatigue damage estimated using the Palmgren–Miner rule overestimated the fatigue life. It was postulated, by comparison, that the hybrid beams reinforced with CFRP sheets may perform better under fatigue loading than the beams reinforced with SFRP sheets.