Fatigue Behavior in the Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-to-Concrete Bond by Cyclic Pull-Out Test: Experimental and Analytical Study

Abstract

Today’s construction industry has been more inclined to apply innovative rehabilitation techniques, including externally bonded (EB) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites on existing RC structures, rather than traditional strengthening methods. Indeed, the higher fatigue resistance of carbon FRPs (CFRPs) has made them superior strengthening tools for structures subjected to fatigue loading, such as RC bridge girders against daily traffic loads. However, the performance of RC structures retrofitted with EB–CFRP composites can be highly influenced by the bonding mechanism at the CFRP-to-concrete interface. The occurrence of debonding failure at the CFRP-to-concrete interface can result in premature failure of the EB–CFRP retrofitting system, thereby leading to rupture of the deficient structure. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the bond behavior, especially under fatigue loading, would contribute to improving the efficiency of EB–CFRP strengthening techniques. To this end, in this work, we investigated the bond fatigue behavior through an experimental study. The parameters of CFRP composite type (laminate vs. fabric sheet), bond length, and CFRP-to-concrete width ratio were considered herein in order to examine their effectiveness on fatigue bond performance at the CFRP-to-concrete interface. The research results revealed that the CFRP composite system composed of the fabric sheet CFRP and the corresponding epoxy adhesive performed better than the CFRP-bonded joint with laminate CFRP in terms of fatigue life and residual load-carrying capacity. Furthermore, a modified bond fatigue-life model (S–N model), validated with existing research data, was proposed that successfully takes into consideration the effects of fatigue loading, concrete compressive strength, and CFRP-to-concrete width ratio.