Fatigue Life Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with Composites

Extending the service life of existing structures through their rehabilitation and strengthening rather than demolishing to build a new construction is not only a sustainable choice but also cost effective. For key transportation structures, repairing or strengthening rather than substituting a bridge element may benefit the economy of an entire community. Fiber-reinforced composites have been proven to be an effective solution to increase or restore the capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) members. The most common type of composite is fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites that are comprised of continuous fibers embedded in an organic matrix such as epoxy. Although the FRP technology has been abundantly studied, certain drawbacks, such as the low glass transition temperature and the difficulty of applying the composite on wet surfaces, raise some questions on the use of FRPs. A new type of composite, often called fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composite, that employs inorganic matrices appears to be a viable alternative to FRP in some key applications. However, as the bond mechanisms of FRCMs are somehow different from those of FRP, there is an urgent need of understanding the fatigue behavior of FRCM-strengthened RC beams and increase the knowledge on the fatigue response of FRP-strengthened RC beams. The proposed research aims at providing design recommendations on the use of FRCM composites for structures subjected to fatigue loading and providing practitioners and department of transportation (DOT) personnel with guidelines on the fatigue limits of RC structures strengthened with FRP and FRCM composites. An experimental campaign at the material and structural levels will be used to build a fatigue model of the bond behavior that could be implemented in numerical simulations to study the key parameters of the fatigue response of strengthened beams and therefore allow to determine the conditions under which FRCM rather than FRP could be a more suitable solution.

• Record URL:
  https://tridurle.wsu.edu/fatigue-life-analysis-of-reinforced-concrete-beams-strengthened-with-composites/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $58110
• Contract Numbers:

  135461

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transportation Infrastructure Durability & Life Extension

  Washington State University
  Civil & Environmental Engineering
  Pullman, Washington  United States  99164

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Case Western Reserve University

  School of Engineering
  10900 Euclid Avenue
  Cleveland, OH  United States  44106
• Project Managers:

  Kline, Robin

• Performing Organizations:

  Case Western Reserve University

  School of Engineering
  10900 Euclid Avenue
  Cleveland, OH  United States  44106
• Principal Investigators:

  Carloni, Christian

• Start Date: 20200701
• Expected Completion Date: 20220830
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Beams; Bond strength (Materials); Composite materials; Concrete structures; Design; Fatigue strength; Fiber reinforced concrete; Fiber reinforced polymers; Guidelines; Rehabilitation; Reinforced concrete bridges; Service life; Structural strengthening
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01754147
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Transportation Infrastructure Durability and Life-Extension
• Contract Numbers: 135461
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Oct 2 2020 10:41AM