Physical-mechanical properties variation with strengthening polymers

Abstract

Physical and mechanical properties of the materials are very important, especially when used for construction. Wood is a building and engineering material that has been in society for thousands of years with many positive properties, and still maintains its importance. As one knows, wood material loses its strength properties over time and requires maintenance/repair. There are many maintenance and repair methods along with reinforcement with the most commonly used steel elements. Although steel dowels and plates have been used in modern fastening systems recently, there are still some problems regarding the use of steel. It is stated that there are relevant problems especially in the recycling of the material. For this reason, in this study, the aim was to make an ideal reinforcement using non-metallic materials. Larix wood type beam, which is mostly used in the production of all kinds of carrier structural elements and in many other areas, was wrapped with Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP). After the winding proccess, the beams were subjected to bending test. After the experimental studies, wood beams were modeled in ANSYS Software Analysis Program and the behavior of FRP wrapped beams against bending was examined. It was found that reinforcement with FRP increases the load bearing capacity and displacement of the beams. Furthermore, it was seen that the results of static analysis with modeling in finite elements give compatible results.