Debonding Performance of CFRP-Strengthened Nanomaterial Concrete Beam Using Wavelet Packet Analysis

Abstract

The carbon fiber reinforced polymer- (CFRP-) strengthened nanomaterial concrete beam (SNCB) has been increasingly attracting a widespread attention because of the advantages of using the excellent properties of nanomaterials to improve structural properties. An active sensing approach based on a piezoceramic transducer is developed to detect the interfacial debonding performance of CFRP-SNCB. A CFRP-SNCB specimen was fabricated and subjected to periodic loading test to initiate the debonding damage. Three piezoceramic smart aggregates (SAs) and three piezoceramic smart nanomaterial aggregates (SNAs) are embedded in the specimen and used as an actuator and sensor. Experiments show that the nanomaterial concrete becomes a good conduit for wave propagation due to the nucleation and filling effect of nanomaterial. The stress wave signal caused by the embedded SNAs is more sensitive to the debonding performance between CFRP and concrete than SA. The attenuation of stress wave caused by the increase of the severity of debonding damage can be clearly observed from the signals received from SAs and SNAs in the frequency domain analysis. The debonding cracking of the tension end region is earlier than the bond end region, which proves the starting point of structural debonding damage. Furthermore, the debonding state can be evaluated by wavelet packet analysis. The research results demonstrate that the proposed method has potentials to detect the interfacial debonding performance of CFRP-SNCB.