Sensitivity analysis of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with FRP laminates

Abstract Numerical procedures are proposed to predict the failure of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened in flexure with fiber-reinforced polymeric (FRP) laminates. The framework of damage mechanics was used during the modeling. Numerical results were validated against experimental data obtained from 19 beams strengthened with different types of FRP. These beams failed by concrete crushing, cover failure and plate debonding. The numerical models were capable of predicting the experimentally observed load–deflection, failure load and failure modes. The sensitivity of the numerical results was studied. In particular, the effect of the concrete constitutive behavior and different modeling considerations was evaluated. It was found that the fracture energy of the concrete–repair interface plays a central part in predicting plate-debonding failures.

[1]  A. Hillerborg.  The theoretical basis of a method to determine the fracture energyGF of concrete , 1985 .

[2]  F. Vecchio,et al.  TOWARDS MODELING OF REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS WITH EXTERNALLY BONDED FIBER-REINFORCED POLYMER COMPOSITES , 2003 .

[3]  A. Hutchinson,et al.  CONCRETE BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH EXTERNALLY BONDED FRP PLATES , 2001 .

[4]  Z. Bažant.  Mechanics of Distributed Cracking , 1986 .

[5]  Jaime Planas,et al.  Review of the splitting-test standards from a fracture mechanics point of view , 2001 .

[6]  James G. MacGregor,et al.  Reinforced Concrete: Mechanics and Design , 1996 .

[7]  Jeeho Lee,et al.  A plastic-damage concrete model for earthquake analysis of dams , 1998 .

[8]  M. Elices,et al.  The cohesive zone model: advantages, limitations and challenges , 2002 .

[9]  Z. Bažant,et al.  Fracture and Size Effect in Concrete and Other Quasibrittle Materials , 1997 .

[10]  Stephanie L. Walkup,et al.  Guide for the Design and Construction of Externally Bonded FRP Systems for Strengthening Concrete Structures (ACI 440.2R-02) , 2005 .

[11]  A. Nanni,et al.  BRITTLE FAILURE IN FRP PLATE AND SHEET BONDED BEAMS , 1997 .

[12]  Wai-Fah Chen.  Plasticity in reinforced concrete , 1982 .

[13]  Zdeněk P. Bažant,et al.  Statistical prediction of fracture parameters of concrete and implications for choice of testing standard , 2002 .

[14]  Y. N. Ziraba,et al.  Computational model for reinforced concrete beams strengthened by epoxy bonded steel plates , 1995 .

[15]  Hamid Saadatmanesh,et al.  Prediction Of Failure Load Of R/C Beams Strengthened With FRP Plate Due To Stress Concentration At T , 1998 .

[16]  E. Oñate,et al.  A plastic-damage model for concrete , 1989 .