Abstract
This paper presents the outcomes of a research program that tested and examined the behaviors of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bonded steel double-strap joints after being cured in a variety of harsh curing conditions. Nineteen specimens were manufactured, cured in an air environment (the reference specimen), treated with different wet–dry cyclic curing or hygrothermal pretreatment, and then tested under quasi-static loading. Based on the experimental studies, mixed failure modes, rather than the cohesive failure of the adhesive, were found in the harsh environmental cured specimens. Additionally, an approximately linear relationship of load–displacement curves was observed for all the GFRP/steel bonded specimens from which the tensile capacities and stiffness were discussed. By analyzing the strain development of the bonded specimens during quasi-static tensile testing, the fracture mechanism analysis focused on the threshold value of the strain curves for different cured specimens. Finally, based on the studies of interfacial fracture energy, Gf, the effects of harsh environmental curing were assessed. The results showed that the failure modes, joint tensile capacities, stiffness, and interfacial fracture energy Gf were highly dependent on the curing conditions, and a significant degradation of bonding performance could be introduced by the investigated harsh environments.
Highlights
Subjected to various loading and working conditions, engineering structures showed different types of deterioration during their service life [1,2,3]
carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is commonly used where high elastic modulus is required [12]; even so, the much lower cost of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) is very important for a broader use of GFRP in engineering applications where low modulus of GFRP structures will not restrict the performance of composite systems, such as in steel–fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) hybrid bridges [13]
To fill this research gap, this paper investigates the influence of different curing conditions on the mechanical behaviors of GFRP/steel bonded joints
Summary
Subjected to various loading and working conditions, engineering structures showed different types of deterioration during their service life [1,2,3] To mitigate such structural decreases, various repairing/retrofitting methods have been studied [4,5]. The design and short-term mechanical behavior of GFRP/steel strengthening systems in constant environments have been researched and discussed extensively [10,16,17]. For engineering structures such as bridges, they are exposed to highly variable environments; for example, there are daily or seasonal changes in humidity and ambient temperature, which could affect the long-term behavior of adhesively bonded joints [18,19]. Based on the experimental study, the failure modes, tensile capacities, and strain curves were investigated, from which the interfacial fracture energy Gf of the bonded joints were calculated and discussed
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