Effect of Impact load on

Fibre Reinforced
Plastic(FRP) wrapped RC
Beams
By

J. Pradeep(03CE3001)

Under the guidance of

Prof.S.K.Bhattacharyya
Introduction to FRP
FRP is polymer reinforced with fibres like glass,
carbon, aramid etc .., retaining the element
properties yet functioning like a single element.
High strength to weight ratio
Corrosion resistance
Easy installation

FRP consists of Fibre material embedded in a layer
of Resin matrix to obtain a layer of FRP composite
called lamina.

The fibre composites are being used for repair and
retrofit of structures in conjunction with steel,
concrete and masonry.




Loading on a Structure
Structure undergoes various types of loading during
its service life.

Impact Load is any sudden load that may occur on
the structure due to collisions, falling loads etc.

The characteristics of impact loading are different
from static and dynamic loading, for the same
structure .

Effect of impact loading on RC structural elements
has been studied earlier.

Studies on fibre composites have been carried out
on static loading.


Introduction to Work

Study on the effect of impact loading on
Structures strengthened with FRP is relatively
sparse.

Project explores the use of composites in strength
enhancement of RC beams under impact loading.

Fibre reinforced Plastics are considered in the
wrapping of the RC beams.


Objective of the Work


To study the effect of the impact loading on the
RC beams wrapped with FRP and compare with
Normal RC beams.

To Experimentally observe the Impact resistance
improvement in RC beams strengthened with
different layers of FRP wrapping.
Current literature
Impact loading on RC beams with varying
material properties and configurations are
studied.

The absorption capacity and type of failure of RC
beams under varied energy impacts.

FRP materials are studied for mechanical
response, damage and type of failure of fibres
under low velocity impact.

RC beams strengthened with CFRP laminates
were studied for strength improvement under
static loading.



Current literature..
Impact loading on beams strengthened with CFRP
Laminates was studied for stiffness of structure
and crack properties.

No exclusive work on impact loading of RC beams
with FRP wrapping has been found.
Scope of the Work
To get an estimate of the energy absorption
capacity of the concrete beam under the impact
load.

Fabrication and casting of the beam specimens
with and without FRP layer wrapping.

To develop the experimental set up required
carrying out test of impact loading on the
specimens.

Scope of the Work(contd.)

To carry out impact tests on the prepared
specimens and acquire data for characterization.

To make a comparison of the experimental results
with related studies in the field.

Fig : Simple detail of experiment setup
Impact loading
Impulsive loading given to the structure by the
impactor.

The loading is given on a simply supported beam by a
impact hammer from a determined height .

Kinetic energy of the impactor transfers into the energy
stored in the Beam and energy is dissipated through
the supports.






Energy of the Impact
Energy applied to the beam by the impactor is
spent as :

Local deformation of the beam at the contact
point
Elastic energy in the beam
Plastic energy
Energy dissipation by wave propagation

The impact resistance of beam is dependent on
structural properties of the beam and energy
imparted.
Experimental Study :
The experiment is performed in stages:

Casting of the specimens

Wrapping of the RC beam specimens with single
layer and double layer FRP.

fabrication of the Experimental setup


Configuration of the specimens with the setup for
the testing.

Dimensions of the experimental setup
Casting of the specimen
Two batches of RC beams are cast , three beams
each.

1150 mm x 150 mm x 100 mm size of each
beam.

In a batch ,a control specimen, a Single FRP
wrapped RC beam ,a Two layer FRP wrapped RC
beam.




RC Beam Details
Beam specifications
Design for M20 concrete with the specifications
from IS 10262:1982

Maximum aggregate size of 20 mm

3 beams with 6 cylinders and 6 cubes were cast
in a batch.

Static tests were performed on the cubes and
cylinders to obtain the concrete strength of the
batch.

Wrapping of RC Beams
Single layer and Double layer FRP wrapping.

E-Glass fibre cloth (0.32 mm thickness) is treated
with resin

The resin used is a 9:1 mixture of Araldite CY-230
and hardener HY-951

Hand lay up technique used to wrap the Beams.

Fabrication of test setup
The Impact hammer is a solid steel cylinder with
a mass of 16 kg and dimensions 150 mm x 125
mm.

A steel sphere of 50 mm diameter is fit at the
bottom to give a hemispherical head .

Support system for the specimen to avoid
jumping ,during the impact.

Instruments used in Experiment:
UTM (300 ton)

Drop weight test apparatus

Accelerometers along with spectrum analyzer

Electrical strain gauges

Load cell

Hi-Speed Camera

Computers to capture data

Position of gauges on the beam.

Support Conditions :
Beam is simply supported on two ends.

A bracing mechanism is provided at the right
support to avoid jumping.

A Load cell is installed at the left support.

Left end of beam loosely tied to the support to
avoid jumping.
Setup (contd.)
Hi-speed camera is placed in the location and
focused to capture the impact event at the center
as the drop occurs at the centre of the beam.

Placing all these gauges and the acquisition
connected to three computers separately

Drop was given to acquire the data.
Beam with all gauges in Place
Testing of an Unwrapped RC Beam
8 drops were imparted on the beam.

The beam failed after 8
th
drop due to spalling of
concrete .

Maximum reaction observed at 7
th
drop.

Maximum strain observed at the strain gauge
,Sg2 of value 0.081.

Residual flexural strength observed as 4.6 tons

Reaction at the support
Deflection vs. number of blows
Strain distribution vs. Number of blows
Strain Profile on beam with blows
Position of gauges on the beam.

Strain at the bottom surface(Sg5,Sg6)
Spalling of concrete
Failure after 8
th
drop
Failure after 8
th
drop..(top view)
RC Beam with single layer of FRP:

Maximum deflection and maximum reaction
observed at 11
th
drop.

Acceleration decreased considerably after 10
th

drop.

No appreciable change is observed in the data
after 15 drops.

A clear bulge appeared at the transverse face of
the beam.

Residual flexural strength observed as 6.1 tons
Acceleration at A2 vs. Number of blows
Reaction at support (singly wrapped FRP)
Deflection vs. Number of
blows(singly wrapped FRP)
Strain distribution pattern at Sg2,Sg3
Crack pattern at the 8
th
blow
Crater after 10
th
drop
Localized bulge after 15
th
drop
RC beam wrapped with two layers
of FRP:
Maximum reaction at the support is observed at
12
th
drop.

No appreciable change is observed in the data
after 20 drops.

A clear , wider bulge appeared at the transverse
face of the beam.

Residual flexural strength observed as 6.9 tons

Reaction at support
Deflection at the centre
Bulging observed after 13
th
blow
Wider bulging after 21
st
blow
Comparison: Reaction at support
Comparison : Deflection at centre
Comparison : Residual strength
Comparison with Laminates :
The number of blows resisted by specimens
increased significantly.

For the same impact energy , reaction force
increased with thickness and weight of laminates.

The deflection of the beams decreased with
increase in stiffness of laminates.

Cracking of the beams is not well prevented by
the laminates .

Spalling of concrete is not well controlled by the
laminates .





Conclusions :
The impact resistance increases as shown by the
number of blows the specimens can resist after
the FRP wrapping.

The residual flexural strength shows substantial
increase in flexural strength due to wrapping ,
even after large number of blows .

The excessive spalling of the concrete gets
checked with the wrapping of FRP layers.



Conclusions(contd.)
Cracking of the RC beam , both formation and
propagation are effectively controlled by
wrapping.

These results show the superiority of FRP
wrapped RC beams under impact loading.

References:
A.Bentur,S.Mindess and N.Banthia, The behavior
of concrete under impact loading : Experimental
Procedures and method of analysis

Barbero,E.J, Introduction to composite material
design,2
nd
edition, 1999 ,Taylor and Francis,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

B.R Hughes and H.Al-Dafiry, Impact Energy
Absorption at contact zone and supports of
Reinforced plain and fibrous concrete
Beams,Construction and Building
Materials,Vol.9,No.4,pp. 239-244,1995.

References..
Cantwell,W.J.Smith,K.(1999).The static and
dynamic response of CFRP-strengthened concrete
structures.,J.Mat.Sci.Letters,18,pp 309-310.

N Lt Col Chakraborty,Low velocity impact on FRP
encased concrete beams, Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, May 2007.

D.L.Grote,S.W.Park,M.Zhou, Dynamic behavior
of concrete at high strain rates and pressures : I.
Experimental Characterization, International
Journal of Impact Engineering,25,pp 869-
886,2001.

References
Erki.M.A and Meier.U, Impact loading of concrete
beams Externally strengthened with CFRP
laminates,J.Comp.Constr.,ASCE,3(3),pp 117-
124,1999
Jerome,D.M. and Ross.C.A, Dynamic response of
concrete beams externally reinforced with carbon
fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP) subjected to
impulsive loads, Structures Under Extreme
Loading Conditions, ASME , PVP 325,pp 83-
94,1996
Juan C. Serrano-Perez, Uday K. Vaidya, Nasim
Uddin , Low velocity impact response of
autoclaved aerated concrete/CFRP sandwich
plates ,Composite Structures , 80 , pp 621-
630,2007.

References.
Suaris,W. and Shah,S.P, Properties of concrete
subjected to Impact, J.Struct.Eng., ASCE,
109(7), pp 1727-1741,1983.

Tang T. and Saadatmanesh.H, Behavior of
concrete beams strengthened with fiber-
reinforced polymer laminates under impact
loading.J.Comp.Constr. 7(3), pp 209-218, 2003.

Thank You