15th ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference June 2-5, 2002, Columbia University, New York, NY

EM
2002

RETROFIT EFFICIENCY USING FRP SHEETS: MECHANICS VIEWPOINT

Hwai-Chung Wu1, Member ASCE
ABSTRACT Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) are currently gaining a rapid momentum in finding their way into civil engineering structural applications. The greatest potential of FRPs in the near future will be in the areas of repair, strengthening, and rehabilitation of existing structures, such as externally bonded composite fabrics or jackets on beams, columns, and bridge decks. Significant improvements in compressive, shear, and flexural behavior of bonded concrete elements are obtained. In an effective retrofit with external FRP sheets, a layer of dry fiber sheet (usually unidirectional tape) is placed on the top of a coat of polymer resin that will harden to bond the fiber sheet to the concrete structure. In this paper, a fracture mechanics based micromechanical model is presented to describe the retrofit effect of using FRP sheets on concrete structures. The interaction between concrete crack and applied FRP sheets is treated by creating opposing bridging stress acting across the concrete crack flanks as a result of the FRP stretching. Such interactions depending on loading conditions will be discussed in terms of retrofit efficiency in this paper. Keywords: FRP, retrofit, compression, flexure, shear, concrete

INTRODUCTION Fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs, or advanced fiber composites) have long been successfully used by the aerospace and defense industries. These materials are currently gaining a rapid momentum in finding their way into civil engineering structural applications. The thrust is mainly two fold: (1) a urgent call for new material to fix our national fast deteriorating constructed facilities, the challenge is just too great using conventional materials, and (2) superior properties (due to high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance) and easy construction (due to fast curing process and lightweight), compared to conventional concrete and steel. The greatest potential of FRPs in the near future will be in the areas of repair, strengthening, and rehabilitation of existing structures, such as externally bonded composite fabrics or jackets on beams, columns, and bridge decks. Typically, increases in strength of up to 160%, and in failure strain of several times under flexure are obtained with external FRPs reinforcement (Seible and Priestley, 1993; Karbhari et al, 1993; Labossiere et al, 1995, Kobayashi et al 1995). FRPs technologies have been largely developed and matured to some extent by the aerospace industry in the past decades. It is readily transferable to the civil engineering domain. However, before any successful attempt, it is pre-requisite to fully understand the design principle of FRPs, and accommodate FRPs to the unique characteristics of the construction industry which is very sensitive to cost efficiency and material durability. FRPs are truly designed by combining
1

Dept. of Civil. & Environ. Eng., Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202. E-mail: hcwu@ce.eng.wayne.edu

adequate fiber in an optimum geometry and dosage with adequate resins so as to satisfy one or several composite performance requirements. It is this kind of design flexibility allows us to optimize materials selections depending on priority of concerns. Therefore, it is of ultimate importance to develop design guidelines for specific retrofitting requirements, e.g. how fiber systems should be tailored in order to provide adequate improvements in strength, ductility or both, and to achieve cost efficiency. It is difficult, if not impossible, to optimize FRP performance from an experimental viewpoint. Thus, a methodology for optimal selection of fiber types and architecture in relation to given target concrete is necessitated. A quantitative model considering both concrete and FRP properties, as well as their mechanical interaction should be developed first. Aside from the performance viewpoint, optimal materials selection is also economically attractive since expensive fibers are only used in engineered locations where they are needed. FAILURE OF CONCRETE Concrete failure is initiated by wing crack propagation under compressive loading (Horii and Nemat-Nasser, 1986), or by tension crack propagation under flexural (Li and Wu, 1992; Maalej and Li, 1994) or shear loading (Li et al, 1993). The closing pressure imposed by the FRP wrap can impede this crack propagation. It is particularly important to design fiber systems to provide efficient closing pressure on the propagating cracks and to delay onset of damage localization. The detailed interaction mechanisms between concrete and FRP wrap are expected to depend on loading conditions such as compression, shear, or bending. Unstable propagation of a critical tensile crack accounts for the failure of brittle solids under tension. An initial crack (a pre-existing crack-like flaw) is allowed to propagate when the stress intensity factor reaches the toughness of the brittle material. In fiber reinforced cement composites, cracks are bridged by fibers, which in turns govern the behavior of the crack in growth stability, length and crack opening profile. The effect of fibers bridging across the crack plane can be described by using a fiber bridging stress vs. crack opening (b-) relationship (e.g. see Li and Leung, 1992). For concrete structural components retrofitted with external FRP sheets, e.g. columns or beams, the effect of the FRP sheet on concrete crack propagation can be analogously treated as that of fiber reinforced concrete. The stretching of the FRP instead of the bridging fibers provides closing pressure. An equivalent bridging stress vs. crack opening relationship can be derived for each different loading type that will be described in the following. Compressive Loading There are, currently, a number of models representing the material behavior of concrete subject to uniform confining pressures. As shown in Figure 1, the compressive strength of concrete is expected to be increased by the lateral confining pressure. Several empirical equations have been proposed to correlate the compressive strength of concrete to the hydrostatic pressure, P (e.g. Richart et al 1928; Avram et al 1981). However, these models do not consider direct interaction between concrete and FRP sheet that provides the hydrostatic pressure. Under compressive loading the microcracks in the solid come under a local tensile field at their tips causing initiation of wing-cracks. The extension of wing-cracks under such a local tension has been demonstrated to be unstable initially and becomes stable as the crack length increases (Horii and Nemat-Nasser 1986). However the presence of other microcracks and the interaction between them induces instability resulting in final failure. A fracture mechanics

model has been proposed to describe this chain of events (Ashby and Hallam1986). A critical stress is required to initiate crack growth: it depends on the initial crack length and orientation, on the coefficient of friction and on the stress state. The cracks then grow in a stable way until they start to interact; interaction increases the stress intensity driving crack growth and leads to instability and final failure. Therefore, there are three distinct stages for predicting the compressive behavior of brittle solids like concrete, i.e. wing crack initiation, wing crack growth, and wing crack interaction.

3 or P

FIG. 1. Concrete cylinder under compressive and confining pressure When confining FRPs are present in such a body, they affect the crack propagation by increasing the resistance to sliding of the initial microcracks and opening of the wing cracks by crack-bridging. The effect of the confining pressure imposed by FRPs on wing cracks response to compressive loading has been discussed in details (Wu 1999, 2000). The results are plotted in Fig. 2. When a confining pressure is absent ( = 3/ 1 = 0), the crack growth becomes immediately unstable at the onset of load maximum which is equivalent to the compressive strength of the concrete specimen. Increasing lateral confinement, the unstable crack growth can be arrested at certain crack distance, followed by a stable crack growth (see = 0.005 in Fig. 2). For a moderate to high confinement (e.g. = 0.05), the initial unstable crack growth can be completely suppressed. It should be pointed out that the final failure of the confined concrete with stable crack growth is dictated by the rupture of the FRP sheets. The confining efficiency using an identical FRP for various fracture toughness concrete (fracture toughness is directly related to the tensile strength, and indirectly to the compressive strength of concrete) can be seen in Fig.3. Similar to the case with a small unstable crack growth range in Fig.2, all the final failures of the concrete are expected to be governed by the rupture of the FRP regardless of concrete types. The relationship between confining pressure and axial stress on concrete is vital in determining the compressive behavior of a confined concrete. In reality, the confining pressure is induced by stretching the FRP sheet. Such a relationship has been derived (Wu 1999).

P=

c 1 rEc 1 c + tE f V f

(1)

where Ec=concrete modulus, c=concrete Poissons ratio, and r=radius of the concrete cylinder; Ef=fiber modulus, Vf=fiber volume fraction and t is the thickness of the FRP layer.

80.0 70.0 (MPa) 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 L=l/a FIG.2. Axial Stress vs Crack Growth (in normalized length where a = half of initial crack length and l = growing length of the wing crack) 200.0 150.0 (MPa) 100.0 50.0 0.0 1.2 0.6 KIC=0.3 MPa m 0.0 5.0 =0.005,=0.2, D =0.03 o 20.0 0.0 5.0 / ==0
3 1

=0.05 =0.005

10.0 15.0 L=l/a FIG. 3. Axial Load vs Crack Growth for Various Fracture Toughness Concrete (KIC = 0.3 MPam1/2 for Typical Mortar, 0.6 for Ordinary Concrete, and 1.2 for High Strength Concrete) Explanation of other parameters can be found in (Wu 1999, 2000).

Hence, Eqn (1) can be used to estimate the relationship between axial stress and confining pressure imposed by the FRP wrap. The confining effect of external FRPs on concrete is always present until the FRP ruptures, and the confining efficiency is not only dominated by the modulus of the fiber but also the fiber volume fraction, fiber rupture strain, and the thickness of the layer. This can explain why thicker layer of glass FRP can performed equally well or better than did carbon FRP despite of its much lower modulus, e.g. as discovered by Labossiere et al (1995). Flexural Loading A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle is shown in Fig. 4. For any given crack length, a, a self-consistent crack profile can be constructed taking into account specific bridging b () curve and applied load. The stress intensity factor, Ktip, is then calculated from

the crack opening profile, the applied load, and the relation b (). Matrix crack propagation occurs when Ktip reaches the critical stress intensity factor of the composite, Kc. Hence for given material properties Kc and b (), the composite equilibrium load can be determined for each crack length. A computer code has been extensively used in the calculation. This program was originally developed by B. N. Cox of Rockwell International (Cox and Marshall 1991) and later modified at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. It can solve bridged crack problems formulated as integral equations relating the crack opening profile (x) to the forcedisplacement relation (). (x) x a

FIG.4. Model concept Note that the influence of FRP and interface properties on concrete strength comes through the function b(). An equivalent bridging stress vs. crack opening relationship can be derived as (Wu and Kanda, 2000):

b = o
and

(2)

o =

tF 2E t t F ; o = F c c F t F + tc E F

where F is the FRP tensile strength, and tF and tc are the thickness of the FRP sheet and concrete respectively. is bond strength and = Ectc + EFtF. Ec and EF is the modulus of concrete and FRP sheet respectively. Eqn (2) will be used in the numerical model that is constructed based on the analyses of the force equilibrium and deformation compatibility of a plate subjected to various loading conditions. During crack propagation under bending, the limit of proportionality (LOP) is the stress at which it deviates from linear elasticity, and the modulus of rupture (MOR) is the maximum flexural stress experienced. For a given concrete segment, there are two possible locations of FRP attachment, i.e. the sides, the bottom face, or both (see Fig. 5).

(a) (b) FIG.5. Possible locations of FRP attachment (a) bottom face, (b) both sides

Fig. 6 shows all flexural strength vs. crack length predictions for plain concrete without FRP retrofit, concrete retrofit with FRP side attachment, and with FRP bottom attachment. All parameters used are best estimated for carbon FRPs and shown in the figure. The width and height of the concrete element are both 300 mm, whereas the thickness of the FRP sheet is 4 mm. As expected, the FRP sheet can significantly improve the flexural strength of the concrete. The bottom face attachment is particularly effective since the strength of the FRP is fully utilized at the tension-most location. The crack opening profile at any instant load can be calculated, and is shown in Fig.7 at MOR. At the LOPs, the crack length is 3.8 mm for both FRP attachments. At the MOR, the crack length is 51 mm for the bottom attachment, and is 246 mm for the side attachment. As depicted in Fig.7a, the constant opening of the first 4mm section corresponding to the FRP thickness is much less than the rest of the crack openings. The crack openings of the side-attached are significantly larger than that of the bottom-attached at the MORs.
30.0 25.0 (MPa) 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 non-retrofitted 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 Crack Length (mm) 250.0 300.0 side attach.
=1500 MPa; E =117.5 GPa; =5.0 MPa;
frp frp

t =4 mm; t =150 mm; K =0.7; E =25

frp c m m

bottom attach.

flex

FIG.6. Flexural strength vs. crack length

120.0 Crack Opening (m) 100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 Normalized Crack Length 1.0 1.2 Crack Opening (m) 2000.0 1500.0 1000.0 500.0 0.0 0.0

0.2

0.4 0.6 0.8 Normalized Crack Length

1.0

1.2

(a)

(b)

FIG.7. Crack opening profile along the crack length (normalized by x/a) at MOR for (a) the bottom face attachment (b) the side attachment Shear Loading The shear stress can be decomposed into two equal but opposite sign tensile stress in the two principal stress directions (i.e. 1 and 3). Therefore, we can convert a shear problem to a tension problem, and our tensile model (described above) can be readily used when (a) proper

crack orientation is determined, (b) suitable bridging law provided by FRP sheet is derived, and (c) effect of biaxial loading (i.e. 3) is understood (see Wu, 1999).

Based on the above assumption, we can predict the tensile stress vs. crack length curve, depicted in Fig.8 where FRP side attachment is used. A Griffiths type stress decay is observed for the plain concrete, as expected for a brittle material. For the FRP retrofitted concrete, the stress decay is much less profound and reaches a steady state rather rapidly. However, this set of microparameters of the given FRP/concrete system does not provide sufficient improvement. Enhanced shear strength can be achieved by e.g. increasing FRP stiffness, increasing FRP thickness, or increasing bond strength.
4.0 3.5 3.0 (MPa) 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 50.0 non-retrofitted 100.0 150.0 200.0 Crack Length (mm) 250.0 300.0
frp=1500 MPa; E frp=117.5 GPa; =5.0 MPa t =3 mm; t =150 mm;K =0.7;E =25
frp c m m

tension

FIG.8. Tensile strength vs. crack length

CONCLUSIONS Micromechanical models are now constructed to predict the compressive, flexural and shear strength of a FRP retrofitted concrete component. The interaction between concrete crack and applied FRP sheets is treated by creating opposing bridging stress acting across the concrete crack flanks as a result of FRP stretching. Such a bridging effect is explicitly expressed in terms of the FRP properties and the interfacial bonding parameter. The present model confirms that the compressive and flexural strengths of concrete can be significantly improved using external FRP wraps taking into account the detailed concrete crack propagation and interaction. The shear strength of concrete can be somewhat improved. It is also expected that the shear strength can be further enhanced when the stiffness of the FRP or bond strength is increased. The current model may serve to tailor the optimal selection of FRP for cost effective retrofit. REFERENCES Ashby, M.F. and Hallam, S.D. (1986). The Failure of Brittle Solids Containing Small Cracks under Compressive Stress States. Acta Metall. 34 No. 3, 497-510. Avram, C., Facaoaru, I., Filimon, I., Mirusu, O., and Tertea, I. (1981). Concrete Strength and Strain, New York, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. Cox, B.N. and Marshall, D.B. (1991). Stable and Unstable Solutions for Bridged Cracks in Various Specimens. Acta Metall. 39 No. 4, 579-589. Horii, H. and Nemat-Nasser, S. (1986). Brittle Failure in Compression: Splitting, Faulting, and Brittle-Ductile Transition. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. London, 319, 337-374.

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