Extending the Fatigue Life of Reinforced Concrete T-Beams Strengthened in Shear with Externally Bonded FRP: Upgrading versus Repairing
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 19, Issue 1
Abstract
Rehabilitation and upgrading of existing civil infrastructures have become a major concern that definitely requires attention. The use of externally bonded carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (EB-CFRP) to strengthen deficient RC beams has gained in popularity and has become a viable and cost-effective method. Fatigue behavior of RC beams strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) is a complex issue due to the contribution of many variables such as the load range, the applied frequency, and the number of cycles. Very few studies have been conducted in shear under cyclic loading. This study has examined the fatigue performance of RC beams strengthened in shear using EB-CFRP sheets. The investigation involved nine laboratory tests performed on full-size 4,520-mm-long T-beams. The specimens were subjected to fatigue loading up to 6 million load cycles at a rate of 3 Hz. Two retrofit (loading) options (upgrading and repairing) and three different transverse-steel reinforcement ratios (Series S0, S1, and S3 specimens) were considered. Test results were compared with the upper fatigue limits specified by codes and standards. The specimens that did not fail in fatigue were then subjected to static loading up to failure to evaluate their residual capacity. The test results confirmed the feasibility of using the EB-CFRP sheets to extend the fatigue service life of RC T-beams for both loading options. They also revealed that the presence of transverse steel enhanced the fatigue performance of strengthened RC beams. Finally, it was found that the gain contributed by EB-FRP sheets to shear resistance decreased with the addition of internal steel stirrups, confirming the existence of an interaction between transverse-steel reinforcement and EB-FRP.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT Research Team Project), and the Ministère des transports du Québec (MTQ) through operating grants is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Sika Canada Inc. (Pointe Claire, Quebec) for contributing to the cost of the materials. The efficient collaboration of John Lescelleur (senior technician) and Juan Mauricio Rios (technician) at ETS in conducting the tests is acknowledged.
References
AASHTO. (2010). AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications, 5th Ed., Washington, DC.
Aidoo, J., Harries, K. A., and Petrou, M. F. (2004). “Fatigue behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymer-strengthened reinforced concrete bridge girders.” J. Compos. Constr., 501–509.
American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 215. (1974). “Considerations for design of concrete structures subjected to fatigue loading.”, Farmington Hills, MI.
American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 440. (2008). “Guide for the design and construction of externally bonded FRP systems for strengthening concrete structures.”, Farmington Hills, MI.
ASTM. (1997). “Standard test methods and definitions for mechanical testing of steel products.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bae, S., Murphy, M., Mirmiran, A., and Belarbi, A. (2013). “Behavior of RC T-beams strengthened in shear with CFRP under cyclic loading.” J. Bridge Eng., 99–109.
Barnes, R. A., and Mays, G. C. (1999). “Fatigue performance of concrete beams strengthened with CFRP plates.” J. Compos. Constr., 63–72.
Bizindavyi, L., Neale, K., and Erki, M. (2003). “Experimental investigation of bonded fiber reinforced polymer-concrete joints under cyclic loading.” J. Compos. Constr., 127–134.
Bonacci, J., and Maalej, M. (2000). “Externally bonded FRP for service-life extension of RC infrastructure.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 41–51.
Bousselham, A., and Chaallal, O. (2004). “Shear strengthening reinforced concrete beams with fiber-reinforced polymer: Assessment of influencing parameters and required research.” ACI Struct. J., 101(2), 219–227.
Brena, S. F., Benouaich, M. A., Kreger, M. E., and Wood, S. L. (2005). “Fatigue tests of reinforced concrete beams strengthened using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites.” ACI Struct. J., 102(2), 305–313.
Canadian Standards Association (CSA). (2006). “Canadian highway bridge design code.” CAN/CSA-S6-06, Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Chaallal, O., Boussaha, F., and Bousselham, A. (2010). “Fatigue performance of RC beams strengthened in shear with CFRP fabrics.” J. Compos. Constr., 415–423.
Chaallal, O., Mofidi, A., Benmokrane, B., and Neale, K. (2011). “Embedded through-section FRP rod method for shear strengthening of RC beams: Performance and comparison with existing techniques.” J. Compos. Constr., 374–383.
Chaallal, O., Shahawy, M., and Hassan, M. (2002). “Performance of reinforced concrete T-girders strengthened in shear with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer fabric.” ACI Struct. J., 99(3), 335–343.
Chen, H. J., Liu, T. H., and Tang, C. W. (2010). “Pre-failure deflection and residual load capacity of reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete beams under high-cycle fatigue.” Adv. Mater. Res., 146–147, 926–936.
Czaderski, C., and Motavalli, M. (2004). “Fatigue behaviour of CFRP L-shaped plates for shear strengthening of RC T-beams.” Compos. Part B Eng., 35(4), 279–290.
Ekenel, M., and Myers, J. J. (2009). “Fatigue performance of CFRP strengthened RC beams under environmental conditioning and sustained load.” J. Compos. Constr., 93–102.
Ekenel, M., Rizzo, A., Myers, J. J., and Nanni, A. (2006). “Flexural fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with FRP fabric and precured laminate systems.” J. Compos. Constr., 433–442.
Emberson, N. K., and Mays, G. C. (1996). “Significance of property mismatch in the patch repair of structural concrete. Part 3: Reinforced concrete members in flexure.” Mag. Concr. Res., 48(174), 45–57.
Ferrier, E., Bigaud, D., Hamelin, P., Bizindavyi, L., and Neale, K. (2005). “Fatigue of CFRPs externally bonded to concrete.” Mater. Struct., 38(1), 39–46.
Gussenhoven, R., and Brena, S. F. (2005). “Fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with different FRP laminate configurations.” American Concrete Institute (ACI) Special Publication SP-230: 7th Int. Symp. on Fiber-Reinforced (FRP) Polymer Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, Document: SP230-36, Vol. 230, 613–630.
Heffernan, P. J., and Erki, M. A. (2004). “Fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminates.” J. Compos. Constr., 132–140.
Higgins, C., Farrow, W., Nicholas, B., and Potisuk, T. (2006). “High-cycle fatigue of diagonally cracked reinforced concrete bridge girders: Field tests.” J. Bridge Eng., 699–706.
Higgins, C., Lee, A., Potisuk, T., and Forrest, R. (2007). “High-cycle fatigue of diagonally cracked RC bridge girders: Laboratory tests.” J. Bridge Eng., 226–236.
Kim, Y. J., and Heffernan, P. J. (2008). “Fatigue behavior of externally strengthened concrete beams with fiber-reinforced polymers: State of the art.” J. Compos. Constr., 246–256.
Masoud, S., Soudki, K., and Topper, T. (2005). “Postrepair fatigue performance of FRP-repaired corroded RC beams: Experimental and analytical investigation.” J. Compos. Constr., 441–449.
Pellegrino, C., and Modena, C. (2002). “Fiber reinforced polymer shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams with transverse steel reinforcement.” J. Compos. Constr., 104–111.
Quattlebaum, J., Harries, K., and Petrou, M. (2005). “Comparison of three flexural retrofit systems under monotonic and fatigue loads.” J. Bridge Eng., 731–740.
Rosenboom, O., and Rizkalla, S. (2006). “Behavior of prestressed concrete strengthened with various CFRP systems subjected to fatigue loading.” J. Compos. Constr., 492–502.
Toutanji, H., Zhao, L., Deng, Y., Zhang, Y., and Balaguru, P. (2006). “Cyclic behavior of RC beams strengthened with carbon fiber sheets bonded by inorganic matrix.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 28–35.
Williams, G., and Higgins, C. (2008). “Fatigue of diagonally cracked RC girders repaired with CFRP.” J. Bridge Eng., 24–33.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 19 • Issue 1 • February 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 3, 2013
Accepted: Mar 31, 2014
Published online: May 5, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 5, 2014
Published in print: Feb 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.