Abstract
Reinforcement of structural timber members with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) rods offers merits over that of the conventional steel type. In recent times, near surface mounted (NSM) FRP reinforcement with timber has emerged as a promising alternative for reinforcing timber structures in both flexural and shear loading configurations. Previous investigations have shown that NSM FRP reinforcement technique has higher bond performance than externally bonded equivalents because it (NSM FRP technique) is able to utilise the full capacity of the FRP materials. In spite of these merits, the investigations and the use of this innovative technique are limited. In this paper, an experiment was conducted to investigate the bond characteristics and performance of NSM basalt FRP reinforcement with solid timber structures. In order to predict the performance of the reinforced beam structures, unreinforced control timber members of the same timber characteristics were tested. The results showed that the average bond capacity of the NSM FRP reinforced members was 16% higher than the corresponding unreinforced beams.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) have been used as reinforcement in the strengthening of structural timber (Hollaway & Teng, 2008)
The 1.5 mm thick corks plates were used as backing material whilst the GFRP had two layers bonded with epoxy resin
A study on the flexural reinforcement of fifteen glulam beams reinforced with Basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) rods, GFRP and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) cords was undertaken by Fossetti et al (2015)
Summary
Over the past two decades, fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) have been used as reinforcement in the strengthening of structural timber (Hollaway & Teng, 2008). The reinforcement of timber with the FRPs and adhesives provides the potential for engineering design and construction It has been reported by Dempsey and Scott (2006) that adhesive bonding is the best technique for transfer of stresses between the FRPs and the timber. In Europe for instance, the first NSM technique with steel reinforced rods for strengthening reinforced concrete elements was reported in 1949. An experimental analysis has been carried out, based on work undertaken by Silva et al (2004) to determine the maximum composite strength and the maximum composite strain of the timber-FRP beams It appears that research of NSM with BFRP in timber structures is very limited. The study established that the use of GFRP composites was an effective alternative for repairing the beam ends and mid-span The study concluded that the 80 × 130 × 900 mm beams failed by reaching the maximum shear stress of the timber and that the contribution of the FRP rebars resulted in enhanced load capacity and ductility
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