Analytical assessment and modeling of RC beam-column connections strengthened with CFRP composites

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical study on the modeling of exterior reinforced concrete (RC) beam-column connections strengthened using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites subjected to lateral loading. To simulate the overall connection behavior reasonably well, the developed analytical model takes into account joint shear behavior, bond slip of longitudinal beam reinforcement, and effects of various configurations of CFRP sheets. In particular, effects of anchorage at the ends of the attached CFRP sheets, which have never been modeled in previous analytical studies to date, were incorporated into the developed model. The results from analytical and experimental studies for seven beam-column connection specimens tested by the authors were compared in terms of initial stiffness, maximum strength, stiffness degradation, strength degradation, and energy dissipation. The comparison indicates that the analytical results showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, the developed connection model, which is a macro-scale model with a few elements, can be used for performance assessments of RC structures having CFRP-strengthened beam-column connections with an adequate accuracy and simplicity.