Abstract
The effectiveness of FRP-rehabilitation of deteriorating and under-strength reinforced concrete beams depends not only on the properties of the FRP material, but also on the characteristics of other materials in the system, characteristics of the bond, and the relative nature of properties of materials at the interfaces. Response is also affected by the cracked condition of the beam prior to the external bonding of the FRP. An understanding of the effect of critical material and configuration parameters on strengthening response and failure mode is essential to optimize the technique. Most current models do not present a comprehensive overview of both response, and mechanisms and modes of failure. This paper reports on the development of a finite element analysis approach which not only provides characteristics of response, but also enables identification of damage mechanisms and their progression to failure. The model incorporates a fracture-based approach and includes modules for constitutive response of the concrete, reinforcing steel, FRP composite, and the FRP composite-concrete interface.
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