Journal of Steel Structures & Construction

Mechanical and Thermochemical Studies Using the Experimental Fracture Mechanics Single Contoured-Cantilever Beam Specimen

Abstract

David Boyajian and Tadeh Zirakian

Construction practices involving the rehabilitating, retrofitting, and reinforcing of concrete structures using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fabrics have been well documented. Experimental efforts to characterize the effectiveness of this technology, however, have included many large scale FRP-concrete tests for strength/stiffness evaluations which do not detect delamination effects; small-scale tests, on the other hand, only provide average interface strength properties that neither describe failure mechanisms nor provide fracture toughness data. In this paper, the experimental fracture mechanics specimen known as the single contoured-cantilever beam (SCCB) was used to obtain important quantitative results of FRP-concrete interfaces as subject to a host of conditions: dry, freezingthawing, wetting-drying, fatigue, and surface roughness effects on the integrity of the interface bond. The findings of this research effort demonstrate both the importance of surface preparation towards achieving an optimal bond as well as offering a means of gaging rates of degradation of the interface under a variety of commonly encountered construction environments.