Performance of CFRP Anchors and In-Fill Blocks in Shear Strengthening of I-sections

Presented By: Ivana Krajnovic, Ghent University
Description: Performance of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) strengthening systems basically depends on the bond between CFRP and the concrete substrate. Particularly, in case of shear strengthening of I-shaped cross sections, this bond is inefficient due to the concave shape of this specific cross section. This will typically cause early debonding at the web-flange corners resulting in limited increase in the shear strength. This paper reports, as part of wider experimental campaign, the results of three shear strengthening configurations over I-sections using CFRP spike anchors or epoxy bonded in-fill concrete blocks. It is observed that CFRP spike anchors at the web-flange corners, for the tested configurations, helped in increasing the performance of the shear strengthening system up to 13%, whereas, with the use of epoxy bonded in-fill concrete blocks and spike anchors in the compression zone the performance of the shear strengthening system was improved up to 23%. The latter system proved to be very effective as debonding around the web-flange corner was eliminated.