Concrete Beams with Fully Corroded Steel Repaired with CFRP Laminates

Portland State University

This research focused on concrete beams with voids simulating beams with fully corroded steel that were repaired with CFRP laminates. The experimental program included testing five, approximately one- third-scaled simply supported rectangular concrete beams. The aim was to investigate the extent of improvement by CFRP to flexural and shear capacity of beams that contain fully corroded steel bars, simulated by voids. Load carrying capacity, deflection, and ductility were measured and compared. Test results showed that one layer of CFRP increased the load capacity to slightly higher than the typical code-designed RC beam, and two layers of CFRP increased it by a factor of two. Finally, a computer model was created to estimate the performance of the tested beams and to carry out a parametric study to investigate the effects of CFRP longitudinal reinforcement ratio and CFRP transverse confinement ratio on the flexural performance of CFRP-repaired concrete beams. The predicted contribution of CFRP to flexure and shear capacities was in good agreement with test results.