Xiaohong Zheng

Fatigue Life Prediction of RC Beams Strengthened with Prestressed CFRP under Cyclic Bending Loads

The application of prestressed carbon reinforced polymer (prestressed CFRP) in reinforced concrete (RC) members can improve the mechanical properties of strengthened structures and strengthening efficiency. This paper proposed a semi-empirical prediction formula of fatigue lives of the RC beams strengthened with prestressed CFRP under bending loads. The formula is established based on the fatigue life prediction method of RC beams and fatigue experimental data of non-prestressed CFRP reinforced beams done before. Fatigue effect coefficient of the formula was confirmed by the fatigue experiments of the RC beams strengthened with prestressed carbon fiber laminate (prestressed CFL) under cyclic bending loads. Fatigue lives of the strengthened beams predicted using the formula agreed well with the experimental data.

Numerical Analysis of KI of Semi-Elliptical Surface Crack in Steel Structure Strengthened with FRP under Tensile Load

Defects like surface crack often appear in steel structures. To ensure the structural integrity and security, the new material such as fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) was adopted for strengthening and repairing. In this paper, three dimensional semi-elliptic surface crack in steel tension specimen strengthened with carbon fiber laminate (CFL) was studied, and numerical analysis was undertaken by Abaqus finite element software to study the stress intensity factor (SIF, KI) of the surface crack for CFL reinforcement effect. The results showed that, strengthening effect of CFL in front side was better than the back side of the steel plate; Crack shape ratio, a/c, had greater influence on strengthening effect in front side compared with little effect in the back side; The changes of crack relative depth, a/B, affected strengthening effect.

Fatigue Crack Propagation Behavior of RC Beams Strengthened with CFRP under High Temperature and High Humidity Environment

Numerical and experimental methods were applied to investigate fatigue crack propagation behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with a new type carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) named as carbon fiber laminate (CFL) subjected to hot-wet environment. -integral of a central crack in the strengthened beam under three-point bending load was calculated by ABAQUS. In finite element model, simulation of CFL-concrete interface was based on the bilinear cohesive zone model under hot-wet environment and indoor atmosphere. And, then, fatigue crack propagation tests were carried out under high temperature and high humidity (50°C, 95% R · H) environment pretreatment and indoor atmosphere (23°C, 78% R · H) to obtain curves and crack propagation rate, , of the strengthened beams. Paris-Erdogan formula was developed based on the numerical analysis and environmental fatigue tests.

Prestress Loss of CFL in a Prestressing Process for Strengthening RC Beams

A prestressing system was designed to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) beams with prestressed carbon fiber laminate (CFL). During different prestressing processes, prestress loss was measured using strain gauges attached on the surface of CFL along the length direction. The prestress loss was 50–68% of the whole prestress loss, which is typically associated with CFL slipping between the grip anchors. Approximately 20–27% of the prestress loss was caused by the elastic shortening of the RC beam. An analytical model using linear-elastic theory was constructed to calculate the prestress loss caused by CFL slipping between the anchors and the elastic shortening of the strengthened beams. The compared results showed that the analytical model of prestress loss can describe the experimental data well. Methods of reducing the prestress loss were also suggested. Compared to other experiments, the prestressing system proposed by this research group was effective because the maximum percentage of prestress loss was 14.9% and the average prestress loss was 12.5%.

Experimental Study on Bond Behavior of FRP-Concrete Interface in Hygrothermal Environment

As the technique of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material strengthened reinforced concrete structures is widely used in the field of civil engineering, durability of the strengthened structures has attracted more attention in recent years. Hygrothermal environment has an adverse effect on the bond behavior of the interface between FRP and concrete. This paper focuses on the bond durability of carbon fiber laminate- (CFL-) concrete interface in hygrothermal condition which simulates the climate characteristic in South China. Twenty 100 mm × 100 mm × 720 mm specimens were divided into 6 groups based on different temperature and humidity. After pretreatment in hygrothermal environment, the specimens were tested using double shear method. Strain gauges bonded along the CFL surface and linear variation displacement transducers (LVDTs) were used to measure longitudinal strains and slip of the interface. Failure mode, ultimate capacity, load-deflection relationship, and relative slip were analyzed. The bond behavior of FRP-concrete interface under hygrothermal environment was studied. Results show that the ultimate bearing capacity of the interface reduced after exposure to hygrothermal environments. The decreasing ranges were up to 27.9% after exposure at high temperature and humidity (60°C, 95% RH). The maximum strains () of the specimens pretreated decreased obviously which indicated decay of the bond behavior after exposure to the hygrothermal environment.

Prediction of Bond Strength of FRP-Concrete Based on Multiple Linear Regression Method

External bonding of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates or sheets composites has become a popular technique for strengthening concrete structures all over the world. The bond strength between FRP and concrete is a key factor controlling debonding failure of various forms in FRP-strengthened concrete structures. Based on the test data, the bond strength model of FRP-concrete was proposed using multiple linear regression and dimensional analysis, in which the effect of multiple factors on dependent was considered. Finally, the proposed model was verified through the test data, and then compared with 12 bond strength models have been found in the existing literature. The result shows that the proposed model has a better accuracy. It can be used to predict the bond strength of FRP-concrete.

Fatigue Performance of RC Beams Strengthened with CFRP under Overloads with a Ladder Spectrum

Vehicle overload is detrimental to bridges and traffic safety. This paper presents a study on the fatigue performance of typical reinforced concrete (RC) beams of highway bridges under vehicle overload. A definition method of vehicle overload and a construction method of overload ladder spectrum were first proposed based on traffic data acquisition, statistical analysis and structural calculation of the highway bridges in Guangzhou. A fatigue experimental method was also proposed with the three-ladder vehicle overload spectrum, and the fatigue tests of 15 RC beams strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) under three loading levels were then carried out. The fatigue performance and the failure mechanism of the strengthened beams were presented and discussed, and two fatigue life prediction methods were proposed with the established modified Palmgren-Miner rule and the loading level equivalent method respectively. The results showed that the fatigue performance of the strengthened RC beams was severely degraded under overload ladder spectrum compared with that under constant amplitude cyclic load, and the life prediction methods were proved effective.

Fatigue Performance of SFPSC under Hot-Wet Environments and Cyclic Bending Loads

A new structural material named “steel fiber polymer structural concrete (SFPSC)” with features of both high strength and high toughness was developed by this research group and applied to the bridge superstructures in the hot-wet environments. In order to investigate the fatigue performance and durability of SFPSC under hot-wet environments, the environment and fatigue load uncoupling method and the coupling action of environment and fatigue load were used or developed. Three-point bending fatigue experiments with uncoupling action of environments and cyclic loads were carried out for SFPSC specimens which were pretreated under hot-wet environments, and the experiments with the coupling action of environments and cyclic loads for SFPSC specimens were carried out under hot-wet environments. Then, the effects of hot-wet environments and the experimental methods on the fatigue mechanism of SFPSC material were discussed, and the environmental fatigue equations of SFPSC material under coupling and uncoupling action of hot-wet environments and cyclic bending loads were established. The research results show that the fatigue limits of SFPSC under the coupling action of the environments and cyclic loads were lower about 15%. The proposed fatigue equations could be used to estimate the fatigue lives and fatigue limits of SFPSC material.

Experimental Study on the Constitutive Relation of SPHSC under Uniaxial Compression Loading

Steel fiber reinforced polymer high strength structural concrete (SPHSC) is a new composite material which is used in long-span bridge structures invented by this research team. Based on the new composite material, the experiments of stress-strain full curves under uniaxial compression were carried out. The stress-strain full curves were achieved from the simple improved method. By the method of theoretical derivation and experimental data fitting, the constitutive equation of SPHSC which contains only two undetermined parameters of compressive strength and parameter of steel fiber was obtained. The study is the theoretic basis of the new material which was widely use in civil engineering.

Experimental Study on Bond-Slip Constitutive Relation between CFL and Concrete

Externally bonded reinforcing technique with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been widely used in civil engineering. The performance of the interface between FRP and concrete is one of the key factors affecting the behavior of the strengthened structures. This paper presents a detailed study on the bond-slip mechanism between carbon fiber laminate (CFL) and concrete based on double-shear tests. 8 specimens with different bonded length and width of CFL were tested under static loading. Strain gauges along the CFL face and displacement sensor were used to measure longitudinal strains and slip of the interface. The bond-slip constitutive relation of the interface between CFL and concrete was analyzed with the testing results. Compared with four different bond-slip models, a shear stress-slip model was proposed based on the experimental data.