01658053

Component

Because the average age of the bridges in the United States is approximately 42 years old, a large number of bridges are categorized as structurally deficient due to increase loading over the past decade. Externally bonded fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have proven to be an efficient retrofitting technique, becoming increasingly common for the retrofit of cap beams. However, there is a lack of analysis methods that can accurately predict the retrofitted structural response of cap beams. In this study, a staged analysis methodology is proposed for cap beams retrofitted with externally bonded FRP fabrics. The proposed methodology focuses on nonlinear finite element tools to account for the uniqueness of each cap beam in geometry and loading condition; it reduces the number of assumptions required and provides a better understanding of the system-level structural behavior. In addition, the analysis results confirm the retrofitted system response and help prevent ineffective or detrimental applications of FRP fabrics. The proposed methodology is validated with a two-stage verification study including a constitutive material modeling behavior; and an overall methodology application using a real/large structure. The material behavior models and the modeling approach proposed are validated using experimental results available in the literature.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFF80 Standing Committee on Structural Fiber Reinforced Polymers.

18-01816

English

15p

2018

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Beams; Evaluation and assessment; Fiber reinforced polymers; Finite element method; Retrofitting; Structural analysis; Validation

Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-01816

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 8 2018 10:27AM