Abstract
Strengthening steel structures by using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates showed a growth trend in the last several years. A similar strengthening technique, known as adhesive bonding, has also been adopted. This paper presented a promising alternative for strengthening steel members against buckling by using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VaRTM)-processed unbonded CFRP laminates. A total of thirteen slender angle steel members (L65x6), including two control specimens, were prepared and experimentally tested. The specimens were strengthened only at both legs and were allowed to buckle on their weak axes. The test showed that the unbonded CFRP strengthening successfully increased the buckling capacity of the angle steel. The strengthening effect ranged from 7.12% to 69.13%, depending on various parameters (i.e., number of CFRP layers, CFRP length, and angle steel’s slenderness ratio). Flexural stiffness of the CFRP governed the failure modes in terms of location of plastic hinge and direction of buckling curvature.
Highlights
The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) as a strengthening material for concrete structures has gained wide acceptance worldwide due to its excellent properties [1,2,3,4,5], i.e., light weight, excellent fatigue behavior, resistance to corrosion, high strength-to-weight ratio, and easy installation
This paper investigates the use of unbonded CFRP laminates, as an alternative to adhesive-bonding CFRP, for strengthening angle steel members against buckling
To strengthen without changing CFRP length, the increase in buckling capacity is greater for specimens with shorter angle steel; 3
Summary
The use of CFRP as a strengthening material for concrete structures has gained wide acceptance worldwide due to its excellent properties [1,2,3,4,5], i.e., light weight, excellent fatigue behavior, resistance to corrosion, high strength-to-weight ratio, and easy installation. This has not entirely been the case for steel structures. An unbonded layer will exist between these two materials as a separator This means unbonded CFRP strengthening can be applied faster and easier on-site. The performance of unbonded CFRP strengthening will depend only on the flexural rigidity of the CFRP laminates
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