Experimental study on durability of CFRP-strengthened wood members

Abstract

Wood is a natural, organic, renewable, sustainable, and versatile building material. The mechanical reinforcement and durability of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites to wood are issues of concern. This study focuses on the durability aspects of CFRP-strengthened wood members. To ensure durability, we tested carbon fiber sheets wrapped by wooden member specimens, subjected to two different environments, including seawater dry-wet cycling and freeze-thaw cycling, on surface hardness. The samples also underwent SEM observation, pull-off strength, compressive shear strength, compressive strength, and flexural strength tests. After the above-mentioned environmental conditions and tests, the effect and durability of the CFRP-strengthened wood members were evaluated. The results indicate that wood members wrapped with CFRP can increase their strength, mainly when applying two resin layers. After two environmental durability tests, the wood components bonded well with CFRP. Our findings indicate that as the number of reinforcement layers increased, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and compression-shear strength of CFRP-reinforced wood specimens increased, but the pull-off strength remained unchanged.