Rapid repair of geopolymer concrete members reinforced with polymer composites: Parametric study and analytical modeling

Abstract

To minimize the carbon production from the cement industry, geopolymers are the suitable replacement cementitious materials in concrete structures. Furthermore, glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars can play a vital role in replacing the corrosive steel reinforcement in structural components due to their extraordinary performance in humid and aggressive environments. The current research aims to determine the performance efficiency of the rapid repairing process of partially damaged GFRP-reinforced recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete (RGC) compressive members subjected to various types of loading. The behavior of 18 repaired steel- and GFRP-reinforced RGC compressive members was compared using experiments, analytical modeling, and finite element analysis (FEA) in ABAQUS. The rapid repair process was completed using high-strength carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The effectiveness of external CFRP wrapping on the failure modes, strength index, stiffness index, ductility index, peak axial loading capacity, and axial shortening behavior of the repaired members was carefully evaluated. Moreover, FEA and analytical models were proposed to accurately predict the axial behavior of the repaired RGC compressive members. A parametric study is carried out to investigate the effects of various parameters of repaired columns. Both experimental and numerical outcomes discovered that the proposed rapid repair method could considerably recover the peak axial capacity and axial shortening capacity of pre-damaged RGC compressive members.