Strengthening of corroded reinforced concrete (RC) beams with near surface mounted (NSM) technique using carbon fiber polymer (CFRP) rods: an experimental and finite element (FE) modelling study

Abstract

The thesis is composed of an experimental and Finite Element Modeling (FEM) study, investigating the effectiveness of the (Near Surface Mounted CFRP rods technique (NSM)) on the corroded RC beams. In the NSM technique, the CFRP rods are placed inside pre-cut grooves and are bonded to the concrete with epoxy adhesive. The thesis studies the failure modes and the mechanical performance of the corroded RC beams due to steel corrosion and finally, the prediction of the mechanical behaviour of the repaired corroded RC beams using nonlinear models based on FE numerical modelling. The corroded RC beams studied here in this study were exposed to natural corrosion for more than 28 years. The first part includes experimental results which were obtained on two beams: (one corroded and one control beams, both are 3 metres long) repaired or strengthened in bending with one 6-mm-diameter NSM CFRP rod. The beams were tested in a three-point bending test up to failure. Overall stiffness was studied. Ultimate capacity, ductility and failure modes were also reviewed. Finally some comparisons were made between repaired and non-repaired beams in order to assess the effectiveness of the NSM technique. The experimental results showed that the NSM technique improved the overall characteristics (ultimate load capacity and stiffness) of the control and corroded beams and allowed sufficient ductility to be restored in repaired corroded elements, thus restoring the safety margin, despite a non-conventional failure mode with the separation of the concrete cover that occurred in the corroded beam due to corrosion products. The second part discusses the experimental results of two short corroded beams, which were tested under three-point bending until failure, along with two short control beams of the same characteristics (age, length and cross-section). One RC corroded deep beam was repaired in bending and the other one was repaired in both bending and shear with NSM CFRP rods. After the beams had been tested up to failure, the main steel bars and the stirrups were extracted from the beams and the loss of mass was measured and plotted for both the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement. The slip of tensile reinforcement at the end of the beams was also measured during the tests. The effect of corrosion and the effect of repairing with CFRP NSM rods in bending and shear on the behaviour of deep beams are discussed. Experimental results showed that both corroded and control deep beams repaired only in bending failed due to shear failure mode(diagonal tension failure), while corroded and control beams repaired in both bending and shear failed due to concrete crushing. The test results also showed that the corrosion of both longitudinal and transversal reinforcement hardly modified the mechanical response of deep beams. Even in presence of corrosion and repairing with NSM CFRP rods, the ratio between the shear span “a” and the effective depth “d” (a/d ratio) appears to be a major parameter. The third part shows experimental results and numerical modelling results of 2D finite element model using the FEMIX computer code were obtained on five, 3-metre-long beams: three corroded RC beams and two control beams. Two beams, one corroded and one control were repaired or strengthened in bending with NSM CFRP rod and were then tested in three-point bending up to failure. The FE numerical modelling results from FEMIX were compatible with the experimental ones except for the repaired corroded beam, for which a three-dimensional model using the commercial software ABAQUS was required. Finally some comparisons were made between the experimental and FE numerical modelling results obtained using ABAQUS in order to study the specific failure mode of the corroded beam, which occurred by the separation of concrete cover. Finally, the last part presents 3D numerical modelling results in terms of load-deflection curves, and failure modes for 4 short corroded beams: two corroded beams and two control beams, half of the beams were let repaired or strengthened in bending only with NSM CFRP rods while the others were repaired or strengthened in both bending and shear with NSM technique. Results showed that the FE model was able to capture the main aspects of the experimental load-deflection curves of the RC beams, moreover it has presented the experimental failure modes and FE numerical modelling crack patterns and both gave similar results for both shear-repaired and non-shear repaired beams, three dimensional crack patterns were produced for shear-repaired beams in order to investigate the splitting cracks occurred at the middle of the beams and near the support. Keywords: RC beams, corrosion, repair, strengthening, NSM CFRP rods, ductility, bending, shear, deflection, stiffness, Finite Element, FEMIX, ABAQUS.