Behavior of Concrete Specimens Reinforced with Composite Materials: Laboratory Study

00791466436693612000PDFTech ReportFHWA-OR-RD-00-10SPR 387Fiber reinforced materialsConcreteBridgesMaintenanceBridge engineeringBridge maintenanceBridge constructionMaterialsUnited StatesOregonOregon. Dept. of TransportationKachlakev, Damian I.Green, Bryan K.Green, William A.Oregon. Dept. of TransportationOregon State UniversityUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThe main objective of this study was to investigate the interaction between FRP composite and concrete by addressing the most important variables in terms of FRP (fiber reinforced polymer) properties. Type of fibers, thickness of the laminates, fiber orientation and FRP strengthening configuration were studied while keeping the type of concrete, steel reinforcement and geometry of the samples constant. The intent of the data collection and analysis was to gather extensive information on the performance of FRP-reinforced concrete, rather than to investigate the structural behavior of FRP-reinforced members. Appearance of first crack on the concrete, ultimate loads and the corresponding strains and deflection, and the failure modes were of main interest. The FRP systems included in this study were most of those known to be currently available. In addition, two customized FRP systems were developed using only domestically available materials. All systems were tested under nearly identical conditions with respect to concrete strength, specimen dimensions, reinforcement, surface preparation, test methods, and analysis. The results showed that the increase of the load-carrying capacity and the performance of the FRP-reinforced beams were strongly dependent on the FRP configuration. The failure modes showed dependency on the stiffness and strength of the FRP reinforcement and scheme used to strengthen them. The study suggested that the effectiveness of the FRP composite decreases as the rigidity (elastic modulus x FRP thickness) of the laminates increases. 180 p.85