Strengthening reinforced concrete beams using prestressed glass fiber-reinforced polymer-Part I: Experimental study

This work is aimed at studying the strengthening of reinforced concrete (R. C.) beams using prestressed glass fi- ber-reinforced polymer (PGFRP). Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) has recently become popular for use as repair or rehabilitation material for deteriorated R. C. structures, but because CFRP material is very stiff, the difference in CFRP sheet and concrete material properties is not favorable for transferring the prestress from CFRP sheets to R. C. members. Glass fi- ber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets with Modulus of Elasticity quite close to that of concrete was chosen in this study. The load-carrying capacities (ultimate loads) and the deflections of strengthened R. C. beams using GFRP and PGFRP sheets were tested and compared. T- and ⊥-shaped beams were used as the under-strengthened and over-strengthened beams. The GFRP sheets were prestressed to one-half their tensile capacities before being bonded to the T- and ⊥-shaped R. C. beams. The prestressed tension in the PGFRP sheets caused cambers in the R. C. beams without cracks on the tensile faces. The PGFRP sheets also enhanced the load-carrying capacity. The test results indicated that T-shaped beams with GFRP sheets increased in load-carrying capacity by 55% while the same beams with PGFRP sheets could increase load-carrying capacity by 100%. The ⊥-shaped beams with GFRP sheets could increase load-carrying capacity by 97% while the same beams with PGFRP sheets could increase the loading-carrying capacity by 117%. Under the same external loads, beams with GFRP sheets underwent larger deflections than beams with PGFRP sheets. While GFRP sheets strengthen R. C. beams, PGFRP sheets decrease the beams’ ductility, especially for the over-strengthened beams (⊥-shaped beams).

Preparation and Mechanical Properties of UV⁃Assisted Filament Winding Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer⁃Matrix Composite

This paper studied the preparation and mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced polymer-matrix composite rings prepared by filament winding assisted by ultraviolet(UV)curing.A ray-tracing method was used to calculate the penetration ability of UV light in the resin casting,and then a typical composite ring with dual⁃curing characteristics was prepared by UV-assisted curing.The effects of winding speed and thermal initiator concentration on the distribution of fiber fraction and mechanical properties were studied.Microscopic morphology was used for the observation of the differences in fiber volume fraction.Mechanical properties tests and scanning electron micrographs were performed to investigate the failure and damage mechanisms of the composite ring samples.The ray tracing results indicate that the UV light can pass through a single yarn thickness and the energy transmitted is sufficient to cure the back side quickly.The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of the composite ring prepared in this paper are comparable to those of the heat-cured samples,which is sufficient to meet the requirements of the flywheel.

Mechanical behavior of concrete filled glass fiber reinforced polymer-steel tube under cyclic loading

The mechanical behavior of concrete-filled glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP)-steel tube structures under combined seismic loading is investigated in this study. Four same-sized specimens with different GFRP layout modes were tested by a quasi-static test system. Finite element analysis(FEA) was also undertaken and the results were presented. Results of the numerical simulation compared well with those from experimental tests. Parametric analysis was conducted by using the FE models to evaluate the effects of GFRP thickness, axial compression rate, and cross sectional steel ratio. The experimental and numerical results show that the technique of GFRP strengthening is effective in improving the seismic performance of traditional concrete-filled steel tubes, with variations related to different GFRP layout modes.

Bond Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Anti-Floating Anchor in Concrete Baseplate

Combined with fiber Bragg grating(FBG)sensing technology,four glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP)anti-floating anchors and four steel anti-floating anchors were tested for on-site destructive failure to investigate the anchoring performance and the bonding characteristics between GFRP anti-floating anchor and concrete floor.The test results show that bending GFRP anchor will be broken at the common boundary between vertical anchorage section and bending section during the pullout process,and the spring-back load provided by the rupture contributes to a decrease of bearing capacity and an inflection point on the load-slip curve.The loaddisplacement curve of the straight anchor GFRP anti-floating anchor is smoother and has better predictability than the same type of steel anchor.Additionally,different forms of GFRP anti-floating bolt have different bondslip constitutive relations.By introducing the sliding-slip correction factor of bending bolt,constitutive models describing the rising-section of sliding-slip relation of bending and straight-anchored GFRP anti-floating bolt are established respectively.The model can fit the test results rightly.

Experimental Study of the Shear Capacity of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforced Concrete Beam with Circular Cross Section

In order to research the shear behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete beam with circular cross section, based on the test results of 36 concrete beams subjected to four-point loading up to failure, the shear capacity and mechanical properties of deformation were analyzed comparatively between GFRP reinforced concrete (GFRP-RC) beams and steel reinforced concrete (steel-RC) beams. Furthermore, influencing factors of shear capacity of GFRP-RC beam with circular cross section were also investigated. The test results indicate that the failure modes of GFRP-RC and steel-RC beams are the same, but the crack patterns are slightly different. And, the shear capacity of GFRP-RC beam firstly increases with the reduction of shear span ratio, and then decreases. In addition, it was found that the influencing coefficient of GFRP on concrete increases with shear span ratio reducing.

Static and Fatigue Behavior of Hybrid Bonded/Bolted Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Joints Under Tensile Loading

This paper presents the static and fatigue tests of hybrid(bonded/bolted)glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP)joints.Nine specimens of single-lap hybrid GFRP joints have been fabricated to study the static and fatigue behaviors in the experimental campaign.The static tests of uniaxial tension loading are first conducted,from which the static ultimate bearing capacities of the joints are obtained.High-cycle fatigue tests are subsequently carried out so that the fatigue failure mode,fatigue life,and stiffness degradation of joints can be obtained.The measuring techniques including acoustic emission monitoring and three-dimensional digital image correlation have been employed in the tests to record the damage development process.The results revealed that the static strength and fatigue behavior of such thick hybrid GFRP joints were controlled by the bolted connections.The four stages of fatigue failure process are obtained from tests and acoustic emission signals analysis:cumulative damage of adhesive layer,damage of the adhesive layer,cumulative damage of GFRP plate,and damage of GFRP plate.The fatigue life and stiffness degradation can be improved by more bolts.The S-N(fatigue stress versus life)curves for the fatigue design of the single-lap hybrid GFRP joints under uniaxial tension loading are also proposed.

Axial compressive behavior of GFRP-timber-reinforced concrete composite columns

This paper investigated the compressive behavior of a novel glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP)-timber-reinforced concrete composite column(GTRC column),which consisted of reinforced concrete with an outer GFRP laminate and a paulownia timber core.The axial compression tests were performed on 13 specimens to validate the effects of various timber core diameters,slenderness ratios,and GFRP laminate layers/angles on the mechanical behaviors.Test results indicated that with the increase in the timber core diameter,the ductility and energy dissipation ability of the composite column increased by 52.6%and 21.6%,respectively,whereas the ultimate load-bearing capacity and initial stiffness showed a slight decrease.In addition,the GFRP laminate considerably improved the ultimate load-bearing capacity,stiffness,ductility and energy dissipation capability by 212.1%,26.6%,64.3%and 3820%,accordingly.Moreover,considering the influence of timber core diameter,an ultimate load-bearing capacity adjustment coefficient was proposed.Finally,a formula was established based on the force equilibrium and superposition for predicting the axial bearing capacity of the GTRC columns.