Flexural Response of Steel Beams Strengthened with Partial-Length CFRP Plates

Abstract

This paper presents the flexural behavior of rolled steel beams that were strengthened with partial-length, adhesive-bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. The hybrid beams had two types of failure mode, depending on the length of the plate: (1) plate debonding in beams with short plates; and (2) plate rupture at midspan in beams with long plates. The flexural behavior that was investigated includes the development of tensile stresses in the plate, the moment-curvature of the strengthened section, and the load-deflection of the strengthened beam. The analytical methods used include shear lag analysis, section analysis, and application of the virtual work principle. Agreement between the experimental results and the analytical predictions is discussed.