Experimental Study on Strengthening of Steel Beam Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Sheet

Abstract

The number of civil infrastructures which have deteriorated and no longer fulfill the requirements of safety standards is continuously increasing day by day. Over the past few decades, there has been increasing interest in applying adhesively bonded composites to repair existing and/or strengthen new civil engineering structures. Extensive research has been conducted on Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) strengthening of concrete structures, whereas relatively less work has been done on FRP strengthening of steel structures. Among the FRP materials available, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) were found to be the most suitable for strengthening steel structures because of their well known high mechanical properties and high strength to weight ratio. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of CFRP strengthening in the load carrying capacity, stiffness and deformation characteristics of undamaged and damaged steel beams. The effect of end anchorage on flexural strengthening of steel beam is also investigated.