Crack-Dependent Response of Structural Steel Members Repaired with CFRP

Cracking of the lower flange in steel-girder bridges is a critical consideration because it will influence flexural behavior such as load-carrying capacity. Timely rehabilitation will save long-term repair costs and warrant sustainable performance. Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is a promising material to repair damaged steel members. This non-metallic reinforcement provides a number of benefits when compared to traditional repair materials (e.g., welded steel plates) for deteriorated steel girders: for example, a favorable strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to corrosion and fatigue, rapid installation in practice, and reduced long-term maintenance expenses. Although applying CFRP to steel members has recently attracted the rehabilitation community, its contribution to the behavior of repaired members is not fully understood. Very limited information about the interaction between the level of initial damage in steel girders and CFRP-repair is available, and also, scant research about the long-term performance and environmental durability for such repaired members has been done. This study addresses these identified research gaps based on a two-phase experimental program. The first phase focuses on CFRP-repaired steel beams having various levels of initial damage (representing multiple stages of fatigue crack propagation). The second phase is focused on testing the repaired beams when subjected to various levels of sustained intensity and cold temperature. A three-dimensional non-linear finite element (FE) model is developed to predict the flexural behavior of CFRP-repaired beams, including CFRP debonding and crack propagation across the critical section of the repaired beams. Also, the FE method is used and regression equations are proposed to predict the static strength of standard steel W Shapes repaired with CFRP, taking into consideration the material and geometric properties