STRENGTHENING OF STRUCTURES

USING FRP Submitted by :

Prashoon Gupta
17523018
INTRODUCTION
Degradation of steel structures and increased load requirements have led to
the need for structural rehabilitation and strengthening.
Structural damage in the case of steel buildings refers to degradation of
building support system, i.e., the frames, the framing members and
connections and braces. Techniques for strengthening and retrofitting of
existing/damaged steel buildings vary according to the nature and extent
of deficiencies/damages and the configuration of the structural system.
Strengthening of a steel structure can be done by either strengthening the
entire frame or strengthening individual framing members.
INTRODUCTION
Common methods of strengthening frame members are :

1. Replacing the entire member with a new one.

2. Increasing the strength and stiffness of existing frames by welding
steel plates or other rolled sections to the selected members.
3. Steel columns can be made composite by enclosing them with reinforced
concrete or adding steel plates to them.
4. Shortening span of the steel beams
5. Post tensioning of members by providing external prestressing
6. Using Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites.
FRP - FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER -
INTRODUCTION
Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are formed by embedding
continuous fibres in a polymeric resin matrix which binds the fibres together.

Most widely used FRP composites are glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP)
composites and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, while
aramid fibre-reinforced polymer (AFRP) composites and basalt fibre-
reinforced polymer (BFRP) composites are less frequently used.
FRP - FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER -
INTRODUCTION
Fibre is a material made into a long filament
Main functions :
1. Carry the load
2. Provide stiffness, strength, thermal stability

Desired properties in Fibres: :

1. High modulus of elasticity
2. High ultimate strength
3. Low variation of strength among fibres

Example Carbon, Glass, Aramid

FRP - FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER -
INTRODUCTION
Matrix material is a polymer composed of molecules made of many simpler
and smaller units called monomer.
The matrix must have a lower modulus and greater elongation than those of
fibres, so that fibres can carry maximum load.
Functions :
1. binding the fibres together and fixing them in the desired geometrical arrangement
2. transferring the load to the fibres by adhesion and/or friction
3. isolate the fibres so that they can act separately, resulting in slow or no crack
propagation
4. provide protection to the fibres against chemical and mechanical damages
Example Epoxy, Polyester
WHY FRP - FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER
High Strength to weight ratio
Excellent corrosion resistance
High tensile strength
Ease in transportation and installation
Ability to follow curved and irregular surface of a structure
Material properties in different directions can be tailored for a particular
application
Low thermal conductivity
Dimensional stability
WHY FRP - FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER
Graph shows typical stressstrain responses of FRP
composites in contrast with that of mild steel, where
it is clearly seen that FRP composites exhibit a
linear elastic stressstrain behaviour before brittle
failure by rupture (also higher strain capacity)

This linearelasticbrittle stressstrain behaviour

has important implications for the structural use of
FRP composites in civil engineering applications.
EVALUATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES
Need for strengthening is due to:

Environmental Effects
Freeze-Thaw
Wet-Dry
Chlorine ingress
Updated design loads
Increase in traffic loads
EVALUATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES
Evaluation is important to

Determine concrete condition

Identify the cause of deficiency
Establish the current load capacity
Evaluate the feasibility of FRP strengthening
EVALUATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES
Evaluation should include

All past modifications

Actual size of elements
Actual material properties
Location, size and cause of cracks, spalling
Location, extent of corrosion
Quantity, location of rebar
EVALUATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES
Key Aspects of strengthening

State of concrete substrate

Concrete must transfer load from the elements from the elements to the FRPs
through shear in adhesive

Surface modifications required where surface flaws exist

BEAM/ONE-WAY SLAB STRENGTHENING
Assumptions
1. Failure caused by
1. FRP rupture
2. Concrete crushing
2. Plane section remains plane
3. Perfect bond between steel/concrete, FRP/concrete
4. Adequate anchorage and development length provided for FRPs
5. FRPs are linear elastic to failure
6. Concrete compressive stress strain curve is parabolic, no strength in tension
7. Initial strains in FRPs can be ignored
BEAM/ONE-WAY SLAB STRENGTHENING
Similar to an RC beam, a steel beam (or a
composite steel-concrete beam) can be
strengthened by bonding an FRP
(generally CFRP) plate to its tension face.
The bonded FRP plate can enhance not
only the ultimate load but also the stiffness
of the beam
BEAM/ONE-WAY SLAB STRENGTHENING
Failure modes : 4. intermediate debonding due to local cracking
1. In-plane bending failure or yielding away from the plate ends
2. Lateral buckling 5. local buckling of the compression flange
3. Plate-end debonding 6. local buckling of the web
FATIGUE STRENGTHENING
Fatigue life of FRP-strengthened steel plates, increases with the bond length until
the effective bond length Le was reached, after which any further increase in the
bond length did not further increase the fatigue life.

In the strengthening of steel members (e.g. plates, beams and rods), a bond length
longer than Le is easy to achieve, but this may be difficult in the strengthening of
steel connections where the bond length of FRP is limited. In such cases, the adhesive
should be carefully selected to minimize the effective bond length.
FATIGUE STRENGTHENING
Stress intensity factors (SIFs) are commonly used in fracture mechanics to describe
the stress state at a crack tip due to applied loads and/or residual stresses.
The fatigue strengthening of steel structures generally aims to reduce the SIF at a
(potential) crack tip and thus increase their post-crack fatigue life.
As may be expected, the use of a stiffer FRP plate (i.e. a thicker plate or a plate
with a higher elastic modulus) or a stiffer adhesive (i.e. with a higher elastic
modulus) can reduce the SIF.
Pre-stressing the bonded FRP reinforcement can significantly enhance the
effectiveness of fatigue strengthening.
COLUMN STRENGTHENING
FRP sheets can be wrapped around columns to increase strength.
How it works :
COLUMN STRENGTHENING
External FRP wrapping may be used with rectangular columns
There is far less experimental data available for rectangular columns
Strengthening is not nearly as effective
COLUMN STRENGTHENING
External FRP wrapping may be used with circular and rectangular
RC columns to strengthen also for shear
Particular useful in seismic upgrade situations where increased
lateral loads are a concern
Confining effects of FRP wraps are not activated until significant
radial expansion of concrete occurs
Therefore, ensure service loads kept low enough to prevent failure
by creep and fatigue
THANK YOU