Analytical/Experimental Study on Composite Behavior in Strengthening Structures with Bonded Carbon Fiber Sheets

Abstract

In this paper, the first effort which focuses on the summary and discussion of a series of experimental investigations on various composite effects of RC tensile members strengthened with carbon fiber sheets (CFS) is performed. The variables of our experiment include different carbon FRP materials, strengths of concrete, thickness of concrete cover, reinforcing ratios of rebars, and layers of FRP sheets. We try also to investigate the bond mechanism along the FRP-concrete interface. Secondly, the fracture energy approach is adopted to predict the composite behavior of RC tensile specimens strengthened with CFS.