Carbon fibre reinforced polymers for strengthening of structural elements

Abstract: There is a large need for strengthening of concrete structures all around the world. There can be many reasons for strengthening, increased loads, design and construction faults, change of structural system, and so on. The need exists for both strengthening in flexure as well as in shear. Plate bonding with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers, CFRPs has shown to be a competitive method for upgrading existing structures load bearing capacity. When applying composites for increased shear capacity, special concerns need to be taken for design with truss model. A limitation factor of approximately 0.6 must be used due to linear elastic behaviour. When limitation on maximum strain in concrete is applies, the allowable strain in the composite will be even lower due to anisotropy and divergence in fibre and principal strain direction. By bonding CFRP to a structure in sawn grooves some advantages compared to traditional plate bonding may be achieved. It is also found that a structure may be strengthened with live loads during strengthening process. CFRP plate bonding may further be used for strengthening for increased buckling load bearing capacity for steel members subjected to compression and a design proposal is presented. Suggestions for further research are identified and presented.