Analysis and Design Procedure for FRP-Strengthened Prestressed Concrete T-Girders Considering Strength and Fatigue

Controlling the prestressing strand-stress range in precracked prestressed concrete girders is critical in the FRP strengthening process to avoid long-term fatigue failures. This paper will address the details of a design procedure that was developed to satisfy target-strengthening requirements while imposing stress range serviceability limits. Two main CFRP flexural strengthening designs were established for use in the experimental program herein. In the first, the amount of CFRP was designed to limit the average strand-stress range to 125 MPa (18 ksi) , as per AASHTO requirements, under service live load while maintaining the service-ultimate moment relationship constant. The second design was intended to double the strand-stress range under service live load while keeping the same service-ultimate moment relationship. This was accomplished with iterative cycles of nonlinear sectional analysis to determine the amount of external CFRP reinforcement needed to yield both the targeted stress range and ultim...