Performance of CFRP strengthened concrete beam subjected to cyclic temperature

Abstract

The use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) for strengthening of structurally deficient reinforced concrete structures is widely gaining appeal. There are many applications in outdoor structures such as bridges. These structures are directly exposed to the environment. Epoxy adhesive used to create the bond between CFRP and concrete is very sensitive to the elevated temperature. It is important to explore the behavior of CFRP strengthened concrete structures under long term exposure to cyclic temperature because of the direct exposure of these structures even for the daily temperature fluctuations. A numerical model was developed to simulate the behavior of CFRP strengthened concrete beam subjected to four point bending. Initially, the composite beam was analysed to evaluate the short term performance and validated with experimental results. Then, the simulations were extended to determine the deterioration of load bearing capacity of the beam under long term exposure to cyclic temperature.