Title:
Long-Term Behavior of Cracked Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Prestressed Concrete Beams in 1200-Day Sustained Load
Author(s):
Weichen Xue, Ting Liu, Dawei Yan, and Jiafei Jiang
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
123
Issue:
4
Appears on pages(s):
41-54
Keywords:
carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendon; concrete beam; crack width; deflection; finite element analysis; long-term performance; prestressed
DOI:
10.14359/51750583
Date:
7/1/2026
Abstract:
An experimental study was conducted to compare the long-term performance of two partially prestressed concrete (PC) beams reinforced with either bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendons (CFRP-PC) or steel strands (steel-PC) under 1200-day sustained loading. The deflections increased rapidly during the first 200 days and then at a slower rate. The final-to-initial deflection ratio was 1.58 for the CFRP-PC beam and 1.45 for the steel-PC beam. The final-to-instantaneous maximum crack-width ratio was approximately 2.00 for both beams. Based on the age-adjusted effective modulus method (AEMM), a finite element analysis (FEA) program was developed and calibrated using the experimental results. Parametric simulations were subsequently performed on 14 beams. A modification of the suggested equation in ACI 440.1R-15 was proposed to predict the time-dependent deflection of PC beams, which exhibits an improved correlation with the experimental results as compared to the design standards.
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