Upgrading of Steel Beams using Composite Materials

Paper in proceeding, 2007

Research work has been conducted to study the effect of upgrading steel I-beams using carbon-fibre-reinforced-polymer (CFRP) plates bonded to the tension flange. The investigation comprised two sections; numerical analysis using Finite Element (FE) method and laboratory tests. The investigation was carried out as a parametric study where CFRP plates with different material and geometrical properties were used along with two different types of adhesive. The aim of the investigation was to study how various material properties of the strengthening material affect the behaviour of the strengthened steel I-beams. Additionally, the magnitude and distribution of the interfacial shear and peeling stresses in the strengthened beams were analysed. The results show that the moment capacity of the strengthened steel beam can be increased up to about 18%. It was also shown that yielding of the steel beam in the area of maximum moment does not affect the interfacial stresses near the end of the bond line, until excessive yielding and formation of plastic hinge