Strengthening and repair of steel-concrete composite girders using CFRP laminates

Abstract

The use of advanced composite materials for rehabilitation and repair of deteriorating infrastructure has been embraced worldwide. The conventional techniques for strengthening of substandard bridges are costly, time consuming and labor intensive. A total of 38 specimens made of steel and carbon fibers were prepared and tested to investigate the possibility of galvanic corrosion. Two simulated aggressive environments and three different amounts of epoxy coating were used. Potentiodynamic polarization and galvanic corrosion tests were conducted. The results of the experiments showed the existence of galvanic corrosion however the rate of such corrosion could be decreased significantly by epoxy coating. A total of 21 specimens made of S 5 x 10 A36 steel beams were prepared and tested to determine the effectiveness of CFRP patch on fatigue life of notched beam. The results showed that not only CFRP patch tends to extend the fatigue life of a detail more than three times, but also it decreases the crack growth rate significantly. To investigate the effectiveness of the epoxy bonded CFRP sheets in repair and retrofit of composite girders, a total of six large-scale steel-concrete composite girders made of W 14 x 30 A36 steel beam and 7.5 cm. thick by 91 cm wide concrete slab were prepared and tested. Three different numbers of CFRP layers and three different damage level in Range were considered. The retrofitting test results showed that epoxy bonded CFRP Sheet increased the ultimate load carrying capacity of composite girders and the behavior can be conservatively predicted by traditional methods. The repair test results showed that epoxy bonded CFRP sheet could restore the ultimate load carrying capacity and stiffness of damaged steel-concrete composite girders. The ultimate capacity of the repaired beam was predicted by traditional methods of analysis of steel-concrete composite beams, which was fairly conservative. Guidelines and procedures for design of Steel-Concrete-CFRP composite girders were developed to assist practicing engineers. The design considers the elastic and fully plastic behavior of the composite girders while is taking into account the different modes of failure. A design example is also given to illustrate the benefit of this retrofitting technique.