Dowel action of textile CFRP shear reinforcement in carbon reinforced concrete

Abstract

Composite structures with textile CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced polymer) reinforcement are characterised by high compressive and tensile strength and have great potential for use in thin-walled structures such as shell structures or girder webs. However, the stress transfer mechanisms activated along cracks of carbon reinforced concrete (CRC) membranes have not been sufficiently investigated yet. Especially the potential of CFRP yarns to transfer shear across sliding crack surfaces has not been thoroughly understood.For steel reinforced concrete elements, dowel action has been studied for several decades and numerous constitutive laws for the shear contribution of dowel action have been developed. In contrast, the sensitivity to transverse pressure of CFRP reinforcement is expected to have a significant influence on the activation of dowel action in cracked CRC. Neither the damage and fracture of impregnated textiles due to transverse compression nor the shear-induced delamination of reinforcement in the vicinity of cracks have been investigated in detail. Therefore, suitable constitutive laws to describe the dowel effect of CFRP reinforcement are not available.This paper presents dowel tests with textile CFRP shear reinforcement and highlights the phenomenology of dowel behaviour in carbon reinforced concrete as well as the main factors influencing the dowel behaviour.