Bond Behavior of Near-Surface Mounted CFRP Laminate Strips under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Near-surface mounted (NSM) carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate strips are used to increase the load-carrying capacity of concrete structures. This is done by inserting the CFRP strips into slits made in the concrete cover of the elements to be strengthened and gluing the strips to the concrete with an epoxy adhesive. In several cases the NSM technique has substantial advantages when compared with externally bonded laminates. To assess the bond behavior between the CFRP and concrete under monotonic and cyclic loading, an experimental program was carried out based on a series of pullout-bending tests. The influence of the bond length and loading history on the bond behavior was investigated. In this work the details of the tests are described and the obtained results discussed. Using the experimental data and an analytical-numerical strategy, a local bond stress-slip relationship was determined. A finite-element analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of the adhesive on the global response observed in the pullout-bending tests.