The paper discusses the potential use of fiber reinforced polymer composites for repair and retrofit of existing reinforced concrete (RC) column-tie beam assemblies. Results of an experimental program performed on large-scale specimens repaired and strengthened with two types of wet lay-up composite systems are presented. Each column-tie beam assembly specimen was subjected to a constant axial load simulating gravity loads, and incremental cyclic lateral loads simulating potential seismic forces. Displacements, strains and loads were continuously monitored and recorded during all tests. Evaluations of the observed strength and ductility enhancements of the strengthened specimens are made and limitations of such retrofit methods are highlighted for design purposes. Experimental results indicated that the two composite systems used in this study succeeded in enhancing the strength, stiffness and the ductility of the column-tie beam assembly. As compared to the unstrengthened specimens, the strengths of the retrofitted specimens were 152% and 154% for carbon/epoxy and E-glass/epoxy composite systems, respectively.

The research described encompasses laboratory as well as in-situ testing of reinforced concrete beam-column joints and multicolumn bridge piers rehabilitated with FRP composite jackets. Fourteen RC beam-column joint tests were performed and a design equation was developed which determines the thickness of the FRP composite jacket and the orientation of the fibers for maximum effectiveness in enhancing shear capacity and ductility. Several in-situ tests were conducted at the South Temple Bridge in Salt Lake City, which included a three-column bridge pier without an FRP composite seismic retrofit, a pier retrofitted with FRP composite jackets, and a pier retrofitted with FRP composite jackets and a reinforced concrete grade beam. The design of the seismic retrofit was based on rational criteria, which included the design of the foundation and column retrofit, and the design equation for retrofitting reinforced concrete beam-column joints, developed in the laboratory tests. The performance target for the seismic retrofit was a displacement ductility twice that of the pier without the FRP composite retrofit. The FRP composite jacket was able to strengthen the cap beam-column joints of the pier effectively and the displacement ductility was increased to the designed level.

Development of the full inelastic lateral capacity of a reinforced concrete pile shaft is likely to require the formation of a plastic hinge below grade level. It has been shown through analytical and experimental investigation that the soil around the pile has a significant confining effect on the pile shaft, allowing the development of larger plastic strains in the compression zone than would be predicted based on the amount of transverse reinforcement provided. It was postulated that this confining effect could be built into precast prestressed piles by the addition of a GFRP jacket in the potential plastic hinge region during the construction process. Two large-scale prestressed pile specimens were thus fitted and tested in flexure to simulate a typical subgrade moment pattern. The piles exhibited higher flexural strength and significantly lower ductility capacity than a control specimen which did not have a GFRP jacket. Failure was through complete tendon rupture at a wide flexural crack which opened at the point of maximum moment. High clamping pressures from the jacket upon the tendons were caused by dilation of the compression zone. This pressure ‘anchored’ the tendons under the jacket, preventing bond slip over a wide region and forcing large inelastic strains into the short tendon length exposed at the major flexural crack. The ACI 318 equation for development length was found to give a reasonable quantitative prediction of the enhanced bond strength, expressed as reduced flexural transfer (i.e., development) length of the tendons by considering active confining pressure.

This paper presents the performance of a full-scale reinforced concrete cor¬ner beam-column-slab specimen that was first severely damaged under bidirectional quasi-static loading, then rehabilitated and retested. The specimen was built using the pre-1970s construction practices including the use of low-strength materials ( =3000 psi [21 MPa], Grade 40 reinforcing bars) and deficiencies in reinforcement detailing. The rehabilitation process consisted of: (1) epoxy injection, (2) addition of a bar within the clear cover of the column at the inside corner, and (3) external application of a multilayer composite system made of unidirectional carbon-epoxy layers placed at different orienta¬tions. The carbon fiber-reinforced polymeric system was heat-cured at a temperature of 80°±10°C (176°±18°F) for 6 hours. The performance was evaluated both before and after rehabilitation based on the progression of damage and the hysteretic behavior including the changes in the strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation characteristics. The results indicated that even a severely damaged corner joint can be effectively rehabilitated using CFRP to achieve a ductile beam failure mechanism. The joint was upgraded to withstand story drift ratios of up to 3.7% applied simultaneously in both directions.

Externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is a feasible and economical alternative to traditional methods for strengthening and stiffening deficient reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge girders. The behavior of bond between FRP and concrete is the key factor controlling the behavior of these structures. Several experiments showed that debonding failure occurs frequently before FRP rupture and therefore the FRP strength can not be fully utilized. For design accuracy, the FRP strength must be reduced. This paper analyzes the effect of the bond properties on the response and failure modes of FRP-strengthened RC beams. A nonlinear RC beam element model with bond-slip between the concrete and the FRP laminates is used to analyze a test specimen subjected to monotonic and cyclic loads typical of seismic excitations, and to investigate the corresponding failure mode, and whether it is due to FRP rupture, debonding, or concrete crushing. The model is considered one of the earliest studies to numerically evaluate the behavior of FRP-strengthened girders under seismic loads. The model was also used to study the reduction factor of FRP tensile strength of simply supported strengthened RC girders due to debonding failure. This reduction factor seems to be directly affected by the bond strength between FRP and concrete interface. The study concludes with a numerical evaluation of the current ACI-440 guidelines for bond reduction factors.