FE Modeling of CFRP strengthened concrete beam exposed to cycle temperature, humidity and sustained loading

Abstract

Need for strengthening of civil engineering structures has been growing in recent linn", due to many reasons such as improper design, increased loading and environmental deterioration. Use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) has become a most promising and affordable solution for strengthening of structures due to their superior properties. The major challenge of this composite application in outdoor structures is the long term durability of the bond between CFRP sheet and the concrete substrate. Therefore, the understanding of performance of this system in different service conditions is very important. A finite element model was developed to simulate the behaviour of CFRP strengthened concrete beams. The short term and long term behavior of a composite member was predicted and validated with experimental results. The results showed that the bond between CFRP and concrete is sensitive to the environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity fluctuations.