Experimental Characterization of the Properties of Double-Lap Needled and Hybrid Joints of Carbon/Epoxy Composites
The effect of through-thickness reinforcement by thin 1 mm steel needles (z-pins) on the static tensile strength of double-lap joints of a carbon/epoxy composite was investigated. Two types of joints—z-pinned and hybrid (including glued ones)—were considered. The joints were reinforced in the overlap region with 9, 25, or 36 z-pins. Comparing mechanical properties of the double-lap joints with the corresponding characteristics of their unpinned counterparts, the z-pins were found to be highly effective: the strength and stiffness of the pinned joints increased up to 300% and 280%, respectively. These improvements were due to a transition in the failure mechanism from debonding of the joint …
The development of nature-inspired gripping system of a flat CFRP strip for stress-ribbon structural layout
Abstract The elegant stress-ribbon systems are efficient in pedestrian bridges and long-span roofs. Numerous studies defined corrosion of the steel ribbons as the main drawback of these structures. Unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is a promising alternative to steel because of lightweight, high strength, and excellent corrosion and fatigue resistance. However, the application of CFRP materials faced severe problems due to the construction of the anchorage joints, which must resist tremendous axial forces acting in the stress-ribbons. Conventional techniques, suitable for the typical design of the strips made from anisotropic material such as steel, are not useful for СF…
FRP reinforcement for concrete structures: state-of-the-art review of application and design
Fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) are considered to be a promising alternative to steel reinforcement, especially in concrete structures subjected to an aggressive environment or to the effects of electromagnetic fields. Although attempts to develop effective reinforcement have been followed, the application of FRPs remains limited by the solution to simple structural problems that mainly appear due to the absence of design codes, significant variation in the material properties of FRP composites and limited knowledge gained by engineers as regards the application aspects of FRP composites and structural mechanics of concrete elements reinforced with FRPs. To fill the latter gap, the current…
Investigation on Application of Basalt Materials as Reinforcement for Flexural Elements of Concrete Bridges
Basalt polymers are rather new materials for civil engineering; therefore, identification of peculiarities and limitations of application of such polymers in concrete structures (particularly bridges) is of vital importance. This paper experimentally investigates deformation behaviour and cracking of flexural elements, which are predominant parameters governing serviceability of the bridges. Unlike a common practice, the present study is not limited by the analysis of concrete beams reinforced with the polymer bars; it also considers effectiveness of basalt fibre reinforced polymer sheets for repairing the beams. The analysis has revealed that a combination of the high strength and elastici…
Simplified technique for constitutive analysis of SFRC
Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) has become widespread material in areas such as underground shotcrete structures and industrial floors. However, due to the absence of material models of SFRC reliable for numerical analysis, application fields of this material are still limited. Due to interaction of concrete with fibres, a cracked section is able to carry a significant portion of tensile stresses, called the residual stresses. In present practices, residual stresses used for strength, deflection and crack width analysis are quantified by means of standard tests. However, interpretation of these test results is based on approximation using empirically deduced relationships, adequacy o…
Steel Fibres: Effective Way to Prevent Failure of the Concrete Bonded with FRP Sheets
Although the efficiency of steel fibres for improving mechanical properties (cracking resistance and failure toughness) of the concrete has been broadly discussed in the literature, the number of studies dedicated to the fibre effect on structural behaviour of the externally bonded elements is limited. This experimental study investigates the influence of steel fibres on the failure character of concrete elements strengthened with external carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets. The elements were subjected to different loading conditions. The test data of four ties and eight beams are presented. Different materials were used for the internal bar reinforcement: in addition to the conventiona…
Mechanical Behavior of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Beams Bonded with External Carbon Fiber Sheets
This study investigates the mechanical behavior of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams internally reinforced with steel bars and externally bonded with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets fixed by adhesive and hybrid jointing techniques. In particular, attention is paid to the load resistance and failure modes of composite beams. The steel fibers were used to avoiding the rip-off failure of the concrete cover. The CFRP sheets were fixed to the concrete surface by epoxy adhesive as well as combined with various configurations of small-diameter steel pins for mechanical fastening to form a hybrid connection. Such hybrid jointing techniques were found to be particularly adva…
Investigation on fracture of epoxy-filled composites by acoustic emission
Acoustic emission (AE) technique is widely used to monitor failure processes in composite materials includ-ing development of cracks and plastic deformations within the polymer matrix, fracture and debonding of inclusions, etc. In this study, the AE technique was applied investigating failure character of epoxy polymers with different content of nanofiller – fine polyethersulfone (PES) powder. Variation of material properties of the epoxy with 0, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 12.5% concentration (by weight) of the PES was assessed experimentally. Correlation between the PES content and the modulus of elasticity was found negligible. The same was characteristic for the tensile strength. Whereas, such a…
Stochastic Tension-Stiffening Approach for the Solution of Serviceability Problems in Reinforced Concrete: Constitutive Modeling
A number of studies have indicated that the tension-stiffening law is an important input parameter in a numerical analysis of serviceability (deformations and cracking) problems of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The stochastic nature of concrete cracking, which results in a large scatter of experimental results, renders the constitutive modeling a very difficult task. Even data obtained from short-term tests are to some degree uncertain due to time-dependent processes occurring in concrete, such as shrinkage and creep relaxation. This article provides statistical analysis tools that can be readily applied to engineering practice. Stochastic principles are applied to modeling of tensio…
Experimental Investigation on Stiffness and Strength of Single-Lap Z-Pinned Joints in a Laminated CFRP Stress-Ribbon Strip
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (carbon-polymer) is an advanced lightweight composite material with high strength and excellent resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Over the past decades, application of fiber-reinforced polymers has been spread from the aerospace to other branches of industry such as automobile and civil engineering. Unidirectional carbon-polymers have a high potential for replacing steel in tensile members. Recently, the first carbonpolymer stress-ribbon bridge has been constructed in Germany. The non-laminated strip-loop carbon-polymer thin strips were used as the load bearing components in this bridge. In comparison with the laminated components, the applied cables are c…