Effect of FRP Configurations on the Fatigue Repair Effectiveness of Cracked Steel Plates
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 18, Issue 1
Abstract
The epoxy-bonded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) technique has been attracting more attention for repairing steel structures. In this paper, cracked steel plates repaired with FRP laminates were investigated with the finite element (FE) method. Three different FRP configurations designed with equivalent tensile stiffnesses were employed to repair cracked steel plates to determine the best FRP configuration for extending the crack growth life. The stress intensity factor () and the crack growth life of FRP-repaired specimens were compared, and the parameters influencing the repair effectiveness were analyzed. The results showed that FRP configurations have an obvious effect on and the crack growth life. Configuration 1 was more effective than Configuration 2. The superiority of Configuration 1 over Configuration 2 was more evident with an increase of FRP thickness and/or initial crack length, but the superiority decreased with a thicker adhesive thickness and/or a larger local debond size. However, a comparison between Configuration 1 and Configuration 3 was highly dependent on FRP thickness, initial crack length, FRP width arranged in Configuration 3, and local debond size. Based on limited analyses of the three FRP configurations, FRP Configuration 1 is recommended for practical engineering applications when the fatigue cracks of steel members are similar to the center crack. Finally, two additional investigations were recommended for future study.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No: 2012CB026200), the National Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Science and Technology of China (No: 2011BAB03B09), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (No: BK2012023), the Science and Technology Project of Western Transportation Construction of China (No: 201131816980), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu High Education Institutions (PAPD). The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Rudi Seracino at NC State University for language editing and technical discussions.
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 18 • Issue 1 • February 2014
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 19, 2013
Accepted: Jul 22, 2013
Published online: Jul 24, 2013
Published in print: Feb 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Mar 7, 2014
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