Reinforcement of a cracked steel plate using CFRP bonding

Abstract

This paper reports on a series of experiments performed to investigate the effectiveness of different composite bonding configuration on reducing fatigue crack growth propagation. Fatigue crack growth behavior of steel plates with rivet hole in mode-I loading condition, which have been repaired with single and double-side composite patches was investigated. During fatigue tests the crack detection method called ‘beach-marking’ is adopted to follow the crack propagation shape developing during applied fatigue cycles. Furthermore, effect of patch modulus on the crack growth life of repaired specimens and differences between the crack-front shapes obtained for single and double side repaired are investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that the CFRP patches could reduce the crack growth and extend the fatigue life. Moreover, the CFRP plates with high modulus were found to be much more efficient. This study extends the understanding of CFRP repair and provides some interesting results on crack propagation in CFRP repaired elements.