Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS 2007)

S.T. Smith (ed)

2007 International Institute for FRP in Construction

FRP-CONCRETE BOND BEHAVIOUR UNDER CYCLIC DEBONDING FORCE

C. Mazzotti and M. Savoia
DISTART - Structural Engineering, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

ABSTRACT
Strengthening of concrete structures against earthquake actions is one of most important application of FRP; in
particular, when strengthening interventions on beams in flexure are designed, effect of cyclic forces inducing
very high bond stress regime has to be taken into account in order to avoid premature debonding. This paper
presents first results of an experimental campaign on cyclic behavior of FRP-concrete interface. In the present
study, a CFRP plate and a CFRP sheet have been bonded to concrete prisms and tested with cyclic loading
adopting an experimental setup allowing for stable debonding process. Sequences of cyclic loading, from traction to complete unloading, have been prescribed by controlling the progression of debonding. Both strain
gauges along the FRP plate and LVDT transducers have been used. It is shown that debonding force is not affected by cyclic loadings; a small degradation of interface behaviour has been detected after the onset of debonding, with reduction of maximum shear stress. Nevertheless, this reduction remains constant during subsequent
phases of debonding and its not modified by further application of high level of cyclic loads.
KEYWORDS
FRP, cyclic force, bond, experimental test.
INTRODUCTION
Many strengthening interventions on concrete structures by means of FRP plates/sheets are designed to increase
strength and ductility against earthquake actions. In this cases, the FRP-concrete interface is subject to few cycles of shear forces inducing very high stress regimes which can lead to debonding. Although several scientific
contributions can be found concerning the fatigue behaviour of FRP-concrete bond in beams (see for instance
Bizindavyi et al. 2003; Harries et al. 2006) and beam-column joints (Mukherjee and Joshi 2005), very few studies are available concerning debonding under loadings typical of earthquake actions, i.e., few cycles at very high
force levels, for which behaviour different from fatigue cases is expected.
Since tests must reproduce the loading condition of the interface in real situations, design of a test campaign on
debonding under loadings typical of earthquake excitation must be conducted carefully. If the composite may
undergo cycles of traction compression axial force, as in the case of columns strengthened with FRP longitudinal plates, debonding in traction may be associated with instability in compression, and specific anchorage systems at plate extremities must be adopted (see for instance Faella et al. 2006). For strengthening of beams or
slabs of bridge structures, on the contrary, even under earthquake actions, cycles of loading may be always in the
traction side, and no particular devices are necessary.
In the present paper, the first results of an experimental campaign on cyclic behaviour of FRP-concrete interface
are presented. A CFRP plate and a CFRP sheet have been bonded to concrete prisms and tested under cyclic
loading, adopting an experimental setup allowing for stable debonding process (Mazzotti et al. 2005). Both
strain gauges along the FRP reinforcement and LVDT transducers have been used to measure FRP elongation
and strain profiles along the anchorage. Each specimen has been subject to different sets of force cycles at increasing levels of applied traction, up to the onset of debonding. Effect of cyclic loads on debonding process has
been observed. FRP-concrete slip evolution for repeated cycles at different levels of prescribed displacement has
been also investigated.
GEOMETRY AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SPECIMENS
FRP plate/sheet concrete bonding has been investigated by testing two specimens, with a CFRP plate (specimen S1) and a CFRP sheet (S2) bonded to a concrete block. Load has been applied at one end of FRP reinforce-

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ment, whereas the opposite extremities of both plate/sheet and concrete specimen are clamped to an external
retaining system. Plate and sheet are 500 mm long, representing the bonded length (Figure 1a).
Concrete specimen dimensions were 150200600 mm. They were fabricated using normal strength concrete.
Concrete was poured into wooden forms and externally vibrated. The top was steel-troweled. Specimens were
demoulded after 24 hours and covered with saturated clothes for 28 days; after that, they were stored at room
temperature with variable humidity inside the laboratory before testing. Mean compressive strength fcm = 55.6
MPa from compression tests and mean tensile strength fctm = 4.12 MPa from tensile splitting tests have been obtained on cylinders at an age of 32 months. Mean value of elastic modulus was Ecm=31900 MPa and Poisson
ratio =0.223. A composite pultruded plate (width bp = 80 mm, thickness hp = 1.2 mm) and a CFRP sheet (width
bp = 80 mm, carbon fibre thickness hp = 0.13 mm) have been used (Figure 1a). Plate has a fibre volumetric content equal to 70 percent and a measured mean elastic modulus Ep = 180000 MPa, whereas mean elastic modulus
of FRP sheet was Ep = 256290 MPa.
Top surfaces of concrete blocks were grinded with a stone wheel to remove the top layer of mortar, just until the
aggregate was visible (approximately 1 mm). Plate was bonded to the top surface of block using a 1.5 mm thickness of two component epoxy adhesive, which does not require primer before bonding. The adhesive has a
mean compressive strength of 94 MPa and a mean elastic modulus Ea = 12830 MPa. Similarly, sheet was bonded
by using the two component Sikadur-330 epoxy adhesive, without primer. Curing period of all specimens was
at least 7 day prior to testing.
In the present tests, the bonded length for both plate and sheet starts 100 mm from the front side of the specimen
(see Figure 1b). Previous experimental investigations (Mazzotti et al. 2005a, 2007a) showed that this position of
bonded length is necessary to perform tests not affected by boundary conditions and more representative of the
material behaviour far from cracked sections (i.e. as in the case of plate end debonding).
THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Each concrete block was positioned on a rigid frame with a front side steel reaction element 60 mm high, to prevent global horizontal translation. Moreover, a steel apparatus was clamped to the back side of the specimen in
order to prevent displacements of both concrete and plate (Figure 2). Bonded length Ltot from initial to clamped
section was about 350 mm. The opposite sides of FRP reinforcements were mechanically clamped with a two
steel plates system, free to rotate around the vertical axis. Traction force was then applied to the steel plates system by a mechanical actuator (Figure 1b). Tests were performed under displacement control of the plate free end.
Instrumentation
A load cell has been used to measure the applied traction force. Along the CFRP reinforcement, a series of thirteen strain gauges were placed on the centerline. In Figure 1c, spacing between strain gauges is reported (same
spacing for both specimens S1 and S2), starting from the traction side of bonded part of CFRP element. Two
LVDTs were placed at the opposite sides of free bonded length in order to measure CFRP plate/sheet elongation
x=0

Load cell

CFRP plate / sheet

LVDT
1

Strain Gauges
Adhesive

L1 L2
100 mm

150

Clamping area

LVDT
13 strain gauges
2

L13

Ltot

Reaction element

200

(a)

(b)
L1
10

L2
20

L3
20

L4
20

L5
30

L6
30

L7
30

L8
30

L9 L10 L11 L12 L13

30 30 30 30 30

(c)
Figure 1. Experimental set-up: (a) Specimen transverse section, (b) side view with instrument positions and
CFRP plate/sheet clamping system, (c) spacing between strain gauges (mm) along the CFRP reinforcement.

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and to verify the effectiveness of the clamping system (Figure 1b).

Load application
In order to investigate bond behaviour between concrete and FRP elements, a number of traction cyclic loads has
been applied to both specimens. The loading sequence, identified by maximum applied forces and reported in
Table 1, has been followed for both CFRP plate and sheet tests. In particular, prior to debonding four load levels
have been considered and five loading-unloading cycles have been repeated for each one of them, following a
loading rate of about 0.2 kN/s. Axial displacement has been then increased at a rate of about 50 m/s up to the
onset of debonding. Then, debonding of the first 10 cm of FRP reinforcement bonded to concrete has been followed. The specimen has been then unloaded and further five loading-unloading cycles have been repeated at
about 50 percent and 90 percent of debonding load. Again, debonding force has been reached a second time and
FRP reinforcement has been debonded for further 15 cm, approximately. Cyclic loads at 50 percent and 90 percent of debonding load have been repeated and, finally, FRP reinforcement has been fully debonded. Due to the
particular set-up adopted, the debonding process has been controlled, interrupted and restarted according to the
described procedure without any particular problems.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In Figure 3a, cyclic force-axial elongation curve of CFRP plate single-lap shear test (specimen S1) is reported;
as already pointed out in previous studies concerning the adopted set-up (Mazzotti et al. 2005b), three main parts
can be identified in the monotonic load envelope. The first branch is almost linear up to 70-80 % of maximum
transmissible force; beyond that value, stiffness degradation can be observed up to the onset of debonding, when
the shear strength is attained at the beginning of bonding length. Subsequent debonding occurs at almost constant
value of applied force. Finally, after complete debonding, the only resisting element is the FRP reinforcement,

Clamping system
Figure 2. Experimental set-up: view of the clamping system for concrete and FRP reinforcement at the right extremity of the specimen.
Table 1. Load step sequence with indication of corresponding maximum shear force and number of cycles.
Load step
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

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Specimen S1 Plate
Force F
F / Fdeb N cycles
(kN)
13.00
35%
5
20.50
55%
5
29.00
78%
5
34.00
92%
5
37.10
100%
1
20.50
55%
5
34.00
92%
5
37.10
100%
1
20.50
55%
5
34.00
92%
5
37.10
100%
1

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Specimen S2 Sheet
Force F
F / Fdeb
N cycles
(kN)
5.30
34%
5
8.50
54%
5
11.80
76%
5
14.00
90%
5
15.55
100%
1
8.50
54%
5
14.00
90%
5
15.55
100%
1
8.50
54%
5
14.00
90%
5
15.55
100%
1

properly fixed at the extremity, whose behavior is linear elastic.

Considering the effect of cyclic loads, appreciable longitudinal displacement increments after each cycle at different stress levels can be observed, especially for load levels close to debonding force. Subsequent groups of
load cycles, at the same force level, provide for very similar values of elongation increment. Although interrupted several times, debonding process took place at an almost constant value of debonding force, about 37 kN.
This suggests that, as observed in another study (Pacheco 2007), previous load cycles (also at force levels only
slightly below debonding) did not affect debonding force of FRP plate still bonded to concrete. A reference
specimen with same type of materials was previously tested under monotonic loading conditions (see Mazzotti et
al. (2007a) for details). Debonding force Fdeb = 39 kN and maximum plate elongation of about 0.8 mm were
obtained. These values are very similar to those obtained with cyclic force application, so confirming that
debonding force is not affected by cyclic loading.
Same remarks can be also drawn from force-axial elongation curve of CFRP sheet single-lap shear test (specimen S2) reported in Figure 3b. As expected, final elongation of FRP sheet is larger respect to plate one, but
elongation increments observed during series of cycles are comparable. Similar behaviour can be also observed
from strain evolution recorded by strain gauges placed along the FRP reinforcement. Strain evolution from all
thirteen strain gauges observed during first five load cycles at 90% of debonding force and subsequent debonding of CFRP plate (S1) is reported in Figure 4a. Similarly, strain evolution during first series of cycles at 90% of
debonding force and subsequent debonding for CFRP sheet (S2) is reported in Figure 4b.
Longitudinal strains along the FRP reinforcement are reported in Figures 5a, b, respectively, for plate and sheet.
Three series of five cycles at different loading levels have been repeated, i.e., 55% and 92% of debonding load
for specimen S1 (plate) and 54% and 90% for specimen S2 (sheet).
25

60

50

20

Force (kN)

Force (kN)

40

30

15

10

20

5
10

0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

0.5

1.5

2.5

Elongation (mm)

Elongation (mm)

(a)

(b)

3.5

Figure 3. Forceplate elongation curve from cyclic tests on specimen (a) S1 (plate) and (b) S2 (sheet).
20

40

18

35

16
30
14

s.g. 1
s.g. 2
s.g. 3

Force (kN)

Force (kN)

25

s.g. 4
20

s.g. 5
s.g. 6
s.g. 7

15

s.g. 1
s.g. 2
s.g. 3
s.g. 4
s.g. 5
s.g. 6
s.g. 7
s.g. 8
s.g. 9
s.g. 10
s.g. 11
s.g. 12
s.g. 13

12
10
8

s.g. 8
s.g. 9

s.g. 10

10

s.g. 11

s.g. 12
5

s.g. 13

0
0

500

1000

1500

FRP strain ()

2000

2500

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

FRP Strain ()

(a)

(b)

Figure 4. Forcestrain curves measured along the FRP reinforcement during the first five load cycles at about
0.90 of debonding force, for specimen (a) S1 (plate) and (b) S2 (sheet).
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For loading cycles before debonding, the classical distribution of strains along the FRP reinforcement, already
described in other experimental tests (Mazzotti et al. 2005a, 2007b), can be observed. FRP strains are very regular showing an exponential decay starting from the loaded section (x=0). When loading cycles are repeated after
debonding of a portion of reinforcement, analogous behavior can be observed starting from the beginning of not
debonded FRP, with exponential strain decay along the undamaged interface. The gradient of strain decay corresponding to loading cycles after debonding, both at low and very high force levels, is slightly smaller than detected during the first series of cycles, suggesting that partial debonding does not significantly modify interface
behavior of remaining bonded part, but some degradation occurs, in terms of an increased flexibility of the interface. Within a given series of cycles, a small shifting of strain profile during repetition of loading cycles at very
high force level can be observed, more evident in plate test with respect to sheet.
In Figures 5c, d, strain increment after 5 cycles with respect to the first loading is reported for specimens S1 and
S2, respectively. For cycles at medium force level (about 0.50 Fdeb), no strain increase has been observed, not
even in the case a portion of reinforcement was previously delaminated. On the contrary, at high force level
(about 0.90 Fdeb), FRP strains increased significantly in the first centimeters of the portion of reinforcement still
bonded. The profile of strain increments along the plate presents a bell shape. In fact, the first centimeters of the
bonded plate already fully undergo in the softening branch of interface law, and no significant increment of
strains is allowed because debonding force is almost attained. On the other side, very far from the initially
bonded section, the effect of loading application is not significant. Bell width gives an idea of the length of FRP
reinforcement which is affected by application of cyclic loads. It is strictly related to effective bonded length of
an FRP anchorage, and is larger for plate than for the sheet, due to the larger value of axial stiffness of the former. Behavior of two tests is quite similar, except for the different length of FRP subject to strain increment. In
the case of FRP sheet, for cycles before debonding, due to the low axial stiffness of the reinforcement only decreasing branch of strain increment profile can be seen.
6000

2500

5000
2000

4000

I-0.9Fdeb

1500

II-0.9Fdeb

FRP strain ()

FRP strain ()

III-0.9Fdeb

1000

I-0.9Fdeb

II-0.9Fdeb

III-0.9Fdeb

3000

II-0.5Fdeb

III-0.5Fdeb

2000

III-0.5Fdeb

II-0.5Fdeb
500

1000

I-0.5Fdeb
I-0.5Fdeb

0
0

50

0
100

150

200

250

300

350

50

100

150

x (mm)

(a)

250

300

350

300

350

(b)

1000

1000

0.50 Fdeb - 1st

0.90 Fdeb - 1st
0.50 Fdeb - 2nd
0.90 Fdeb - 2nd
0.50 Fdeb - 3rd
0.90 Fdeb - 3rd

800

600

0.50 Fdeb - 1st

800

0.90 Fdeb - 1st

0.50 Fdeb - 2nd
0.90 Fdeb - 2nd

in 5 cycles ()

in 5 cycles ()

200

x (mm)

400

200

600

0.50 Fdeb - 3rd

0.90 Fdeb - 3rd

400

200

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

50

100

150

200

250

-200

-200

x (mm)

x (mm)

(c)

(d)

Figure 5. Profiles of FRP strains along the bonded lengths during application of maximum shear force for cycles
at about 0.50 and 0.90 of debonding force (Fdeb) for specimen (a) S1 and (b) S2. Corresponding strain increments
measured after 5 cycles of loading, for specimen (c) S1 and (d) S2.

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In order to better investigate degradation due to load repetitions, shear stress distributions along the bonded
length for three subsequent series of cycles (represented with different colours) at 90% of debonding force have
been reported in Figures 6a, b for plate and sheet, respectively. Shear stresses have been calculated starting from
recorded strain values according to the standard procedure (Mazzotti et al. 2005a, 2007a), i.e., not taking into
account the occurrence of unloading cycles in interface law. This assumption is valid because shear stress profiles are given at values of applied maximum force. In both cases, maximum shear stress prior to debonding is
significantly higher than peak shear stress during debonding process, see dashed lines in Figures 6a,b (profiles
are given for the same level of applied force). This phenomenon is very similar to that evidenced in monotonic
loading tests, and is more significant in the case of sheets than plates (see Mazzotti et al. 2007b). Nevertheless,
the value of peak shear stress remains almost constant after various cycling loading, suggesting cyclic loading
does not remarkably affect bond behaviour.
CONCLUSIONS
The problem of CFRP-concrete bond behaviour under cycles at high levels of traction force has been experimentally investigated. A CFRP plate and a sheet have been subject to debonding test adopting an experimental set-up
allowing for control of debonding during test. Debonding process has been interrupted twice and a number of
cyclic loadings at very high force levels have been prescribed, in order to detect if bond deterioration occurs.
A negligible influence of cyclic loadings on debonding force has been observed, both for plate and sheet. Partial
debonding seems to not modify interface behaviour of FRP still bonded part; furthermore, effects of cyclic loadings in terms of strain increment can be found at a larger distance in FRP plates with respect to sheets. Finally,
reduction of maximum shear stress after the onset of debonding is very similar to that detected for monotonic
loadings, and it is not modified by further application of high levels of cyclic loads.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Sika Italia S.p.A. for providing CFRP sheets, plates and adhesives. The financial supports of (Italian) Department of Civil Protection (RELUIS 2005 Grant Task 8: delamination for
cyclic actions in r.c. and masonry structures and C.N.R. (National Council of Research), PAAS Grant 2001, are
gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Bizindavyi. L., Neale. K.W. and Erki. M.A. (2003). Experimental investigation of bonded fiber reinforced
polymer-concrete joints under cyclic loading, Journal of Composites for Construction ASCE, 7(2): 127-134.
Faella, C., Realfonzo, R. and Rizzano, G. (2006). Experimental behaviour of R/C columns confined by FRP,
Proc. 2nd fib Congress, Naples, Italy, June 2006.
Harries. K.A., Aidoo J., Zorn. A. and Quattlebaum. J. (2006). Deterioration of FRP-to-concrete bond under
failure loading, Advances in Structural Engineering, 9(6): 779-789.
Mazzotti. C., Savoia. M. and Ferracuti. B. (2005a). A new set-up for FRP-concrete stable delamination test,
Proc. FRPRCS7, New Orleans, USA, November 2005, 1-10 (on CD).
Mazzotti. C., Ferracuti. B. and Savoia. M. (2005b). FRP concrete delamination results adopting different
experimental pure shear setups, ICF XI International Conference on Fracture, Turin, Italy, March 2005.
Mazzotti. C., Savoia. M. and Ferracuti. B. (2007a). Mode II fracture energy and interface law for FRP
concrete bonding with different concrete surface preparations, FRAMCOS-6, Catania, Italy, June 2007,
1249-57.
Mazzotti. C., Savoia. M. and Ferracuti. B. (2007b). An experimental study on delamination of FRP plates
bonded to concrete, Construction and Building Materials, in press.
Mukherjee. A. and Joshi. M. (2005). FRPC reinforced concrete beam-column joints under cyclic excitation,
Composite structures, 70(2): 185-199.
Pacheco. C.O., Sanchez Filho. E.S. and Guimaraes. G.B. (2007). Experimental study on bond between carbon
fiber composite and concrete, Proc. FRPRCS8, Patras, Greece, July 2007, 1-10 (on CD).

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12

12

10

10

I-0.9Fdeb

I-0.9Fdeb
8

II-0.9Fdeb

Shear stress (MPa)

Shear stress (MPa)

III-0.9Fdeb

III-0.9Fdeb

II-0.9Fdeb

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

-2

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

-2

x (mm)

x (mm)

(a)

(b)

Figure 6. Profiles of shear stresses along FRP element for specimens (a) S1 (plate) and (b) S2 (sheet) during application of maximum shear force at the end of cycles at 90% of debonding force.

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