International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)
Linear Behaviour of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer
Plate Bonded Beam
Ancy Joseph M Tech Dr. P.Sivakumar
Student, MACE, Scientist CSIR-SERC Chennai
Kothamangalam
ABSTRACT
The application of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) to existing
Reinforced Concrete (RC) structural elements as external
reinforcement has become popular and frequently applied in
recent years. An analytical and experimental study has been
carried out to investigate the behavior of concrete beams
strengthened with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)
unidirectional laminates under loading. The finite element
program ABAQUS has been used to study the linear behaviour
of a beam.
Keywords
Concrete, Fibre reinforced polymer(FRP), Strengthening;
Retrofitting; Debonding failure; ABAQUS
1. INTRODUCTION
Upgrading of reinforced concrete structures may be required for
many different reasons. The concrete may have become
structurally inadequate for example, due to deterioration of
materials, poor initial design and/or construction, lack of
maintenance, upgrading of design loads or accident events such
as earthquakes. In recent years, the development of FRP and
strong epoxy glue has led to a technique which has great
potential in the field of upgrading structures. Basically the
technique involves gluing FRP plates to the surface of the
concrete. The plates then act compositely with the concrete and
help to carry the loads.
The use of FRP to repair and rehabilitate damaged steel and
concrete structures has become increasingly attractive due to the
well known good mechanical properties of this material. The
advantages are very high strength to density ratio, corrosion
resistance, reduced maintenance costs and faster installation
time compared to conventional materials.
The application of CFRP as external reinforcement to strengthen
concrete beams has received much attention from researchers,
but only very few studies have focused on structural members
strengthened after preloading. The behaviour of structures which
have been preloaded until cracking initiates deserves more
attention, since this corresponds to the real-life use of CFRP
retrofitting.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
RC beams have been cast and retrofitted and loaded with a four
point bending configuration with a span of 1350 mm and
distance between loads of 450 mm, as shown in Fig.1. All the
beams are of 200-mm depth, 100-mm width and 1500-mm long.
In this study, a RCC beam has been designed with limit state
Jayasree Ramanujan
Assistant professor MACE,
Kothamangalam
method as an under-reinforced section using M70 grade and Fe
415 steel. The EB-RCC beam was designed according to fib
[1]. The longitudinal reinforcement is consisting of two nos. of
16 mm for tension and two nos. of 10 mm for compression.
Shear reinforcement has been provided sufficiently and it is
consisting of 8 mm c/c @ 75 mm spacing. CFRP strips of
width 50 mm and 1.4 mm thick has been bonded to the bottom
surface of the beams for a span of 1100 mm at centre with their
fibre direction oriented towards the axial direction of the beam.
The beams were tested, while the deflection and load were
monitored.
Fig.1. Retrofitted RC beam
2.1 Casting of composite beams
Standard steel moulds available in the laboratory have been used
to cast beams of size 100 x 200 x 1500 mm. The moulds were
creased before casting and spacers of size 20mm were placed to
provide uniform cover to the reinforcement. The reinforcement
cages have been prepared and placed in position. Concrete mix
as per the design have been prepared in the mixer machine and
used for casting the beams. Needle vibrator has been used for
compacting the concrete. The mould has been vibrated until the
concrete get completely filled without any voids. The beams
have been removed from the mould after 48 hours and the
demoulded beams were cured for 28 days.
2.2 Retrofitting of beams
RC beam has been kept upside down so that retrofitting could be
done on its bottom surface. Surface roughening and cleaning
have been done on all the beams. The surface has been leveled
with Araldite adhesive which contains resin and hardener. It has
been mixed in a ratio of 1:1. After this surface preparation,
CFRP strip has been pasted on the bottom surface using SIKA
CarboDur adhesive. Saturant has been mixed with the ratio of
100 Base: 50 Hardener. After mixing base and hardener an ash
colour liquid was formed known as epoxy and it has been
applied to the beam. Then CFRP strip has been laid on top of the
epoxy. The sheet has been pasted and pressed using steel rollers
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 International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)

to avoid the air gaps. Fig.2 shows a typical beam with the CFRP
pasted on the bottom face of the beam. The beams were kept for
7 days curing at ambient temperature before testing.

Fig.4.Crack pattern of beam

All the beams experienced debonding of the CFRP plate from

the concrete surface. This failure was due to high stress
occurring at the ends of the CFRP. The properties of the
adhesive are probably important in relation to the debonding
Fig.2. CFRP on the bottom of beam failure. The failure pattern of the rehabilitated beam is shown in
fig.5
2.3 Testing arrangement
All the beams have been tested under simply supported end
conditions. Two points loading has been adopted for testing. The
testing of beam has been done with the help of hydraulic
operated jack connected to load cell. The load has been applied
on the beam with the help of load cell and value was obtained
from the data acquisition system, which has been attached with
the load cell. Three dial gauges have been placed, one dial gauge
at the center and two dial gauges below loading points. The
values of deflection have been obtained using these dial gauges.
Fig.3 shows the testing arrangement for a beam.

Fig.5. Delamination of FRP plate

3. FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Finite element analysis has been performed to model the linear
behaviour of the beams. The FEM package ABAQUS/standard
has been used for the analysis [2]. The analysis is done for the
various conditions. The conditions are;

1. Plain cement concrete beam

Fig.3. Testing arrangement of beam
2.4 Test procedure
In the experimental programme the retrofitted beams have been
tested using two point loading arrangement. The set up ensures
pure bending in the central third portion of the beam. The beams
have been loaded with equal force on the two loading points and
load has been applied till the beams fail. Fig.4 shows the
cracking pattern of beam on increment of load.
2. Plain cement concrete beam externally bonded with FRP
3. Reinforced concrete beam
4. Reinforced concrete beam externally bonded with FRP
3.1 Material properties and constitutive
models
3.1.1 Concrete
Under uni-axial tension the stressstrain response follows a
linear elastic relationship until the value of the failure stress is
reached. The failure stress corresponds to the onset of micro-
cracking in the concrete material. The elastic parameters
required to establish the relation are elastic modulus, E c, and

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 International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)

tensile strength, fct [3]. The compressive strength was in the

experimental work measured to be 70 MPa.

(1)

(2)

The density of concrete is taken as 24 kN/m3 & 25 kN/m3 for

plain cement concrete and reinforced concrete beam
respectively. Poisson ratio of 0.18 is used.

3.1.2 Steel reinforcement Fig.7. Plain cement concrete beam

The steel is linear up to yield point as shown in fig.6. The elastic
modulus of 210 GPa and Poissons ratio of 0.3 was used for the
steel reinforcement. The density of steel used as 78.5 kN/m3.
The steel reinforcement is embedded in concrete.

Fig.8. Plain cement concrete beam EB with FRP

Fig.6 Linear stress-strain relationship of steel

3.1.3 CFRP
The CFRP material was considered as linear elastic isotropic
until failure. The elastic modulus in the fibre direction of the
unidirectional CFRP material used in the experimental study has
been specified by the manufacturer as 165 GPa. This value for E
and m = 0.3 has been used for the isotropic model.

3.1.4 CFRPconcrete interface

In the model the interface was modelled cohesive zone model. Fig.9 Reinforced concrete beam
Tie constraints are used for attaching the FRP plate to the
concrete beam. For the cohesive model the coupled stiffness
coefficients are; Knn=9.285, Kss=11.0714, Ktt = 11.0714,
Kns=6.785, Knt=6.785, Kst =6.785.

3.2 Modelling of beams

The linear analysis has been done for the above mentioned four
conditions. The analysis has been carried out for the comparison
and the study of effect of CFRP. The beams modelled in
Abaqus for the various conditions is shown in fig.7, fig.8, fig.9
and fig.10. The application of loading and boundary conditions
are shown in fig.11 Fig.10. Reinforced concrete beam EB with FRP.

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 International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)

Table.3 Results of RCC beam

Load Stress Strain Stress at Strain at Deflection
in kN at top at top bottom bottom in
N/mm2 10-4 N/mm2 10-4 mm
0 0 0 0 0 0

10 -6.00 -1.43 5.99 1.44 -0.29

20 -12.0 -2.87 12.00 2.87 -0.59

30 -18.0 -4.30 18.01 4.31 -0.89

40 -24.0 -5.73 24.02 5.74 -1.19

50 -30.0 -7.16 30.02 7.18 -1.49

Fig.11. Loading and boundary conditions of the beam

3.3 Analytical results Table.4 Results of RCC beam EB with FRP

The analytical results of the beams for the various conditions Load Stress Strain Stress at Strain at Deflection
are shown in Table.1, Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4. in kN at top at top bottom bottom in
N/mm2 10-4 N/mm2 10-4 mm
Table.1 Results of PCC beam 0 0 0 0 0 0

Load Stress Strain Stress at Strain at Deflection 10 -5.86 -1.40 5.70 1.36 -0.29
in kN at top at top bottom bottom in
N/mm2 10-4 N/mm2 10-4 mm 20 -11.71 -2.80 11.40 2.73 -0.58
0 0 0 0 0 0
30 -17.56 -4.20 17.11 4.09 -0.87
10 -6.45 -1.55 6.57 1.57 -0.33
40 -23.43 -5.60 22.81 5.45 -1.15
20 -12.9 -3.09 13.13 3.14 -0.65
50 -29.3 -7.00 28.52 6.82 -1.44
30 -19.4 -4.63 19.69 4.71 -0.98

40 -25.8 -6.17 26.25 6.28 -1.32

Fig.12 shows the load- deflection diagram of the 4 cases.
50 -32.3 -7.72 32.82 7.84 -1.65 Fig.13and Fig.14 shows the stress-strain curve of bottom and top
of beam respectively for all the cases.

Table.2 Results of PCC beam EB with FRP

Load Stress Strain Stress at Strain at Deflection

in kN at top at top bottom bottom in
N/mm2 10-4 N/mm2 10-4 mm
0 0 0 0 0 0

10 -6.29 -1.5 6.21 1.48 -0.32

20 -11.3 -3.01 12.42 2.97 -0.63

30 -18.9 -4.51 18.64 4.45 -0.95

Fig.12 Load-deflection curve for all the cases
40 -25.2 -6.01 24.85 5.94 -1.26

50 -31.5 -7.52 31.06 7.42 -1.58

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 International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)
Fig.13. Stress-strain (bottom) curve for all the cases
Fig.14 Stress-strain (top) curve for all the cases
4. ANALYTICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL
COMPARISONS
The analytical and experimental comparisons have been done in
the load-deflection case. The comparison includes the load-
deflection of RCC and EB-RCC beam. Fig.15 shows the load-
deflection curve of RCC beam and fig.16 shows the load-
deflection of EB-RCC beams. For both the cases the
experimental results and analytical results are coinciding for the
linear case.
Fig.15 Load-deflection curve for RCC beam
Fig.16 Load-deflection curve for EB-RCC beam
5. CONCLUSIONS
Rehabilitation by CFRP has proven itself to be a better feasible
option than other methods. So the future prospects for the
utilization of CFRP in Civil engineering infrastructure are good.
Researchers around the world are now looking at the new and
innovative ways of utilization of the same. The behaviour of
concrete beams strengthened with CFRP unidirectional
composite laminates have been studied. CFRP pasted beams
behaves better than the RCC beam. Deflections in the beams
retrofitted with CFRP are less than RCC beam. Failure has
occurred in the rehabilitated beam due to the delamination of
CFRP plate. The delamination is occurred due to the stress
concentration at the ends of the plate.
From the finite element analysis the RCC with FRP has the
higher stiffness than all other cases. For the same load the RCC
beam with FRP have the less stresses and strains. In the
comparison cases both experimental and analytical results are
coinciding. Therefore the FEA software ABAQUS can use
effectively for the beam analysis.
6. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the support provided by the
Structural Engineering Research Institute (SERC).Our thanks
are extended to the referees whose comments and suggestions
have considerably improved the quality of the paper.
7. REFERENCES
[1] Fib Bulletin I 2001, vol.1. Structural concrete-textbook on
behaviour, design and performance.
[2] Abacus Inc., ABAQUS 6.9.3 User's Manual,
SIMULIA, USA
[3] IS 456: 2000 Indian standard. Plain and reinforced
standard, 2000), New Delhi.
[4] J.G.Teng, J.F.Chen, S.T.Smith and L. Lam, 2002. FRP
strengthened RC structures, John Wiley Sons Ltd,
[5] Ross A., Jerome, D.M., Tedesco, J.W., and Hughes, M.L.
Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams with
Externally Bonded Composite Laminates. ACI Structural
Journal, 96, 2, PP 212-221.
[6] Meirer, U and Winistorfer, 1995 A. Retrofitting of
Structures Through External Bonding of CFRP Sheets,
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 International Conference on Emerging Technology Trends (ICETT) 2011
Proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)

Non-Metallic Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, pp
465-472.
[7] Nanni, A. 1995. Concrete Repair with Externally Bonded
FRP Reinforcement. Concrete International, ACI, 6, pp 22-
26.
[8] Smith, S.T., and Teng, J.G, 2002. FRP-Strengthened RC
Beams I: Review of Debonding Strength Models,
Engineering Structures, 24, 4, pp385-95.
[9] Priyam Saxena, Houssam Toutanji and Albert Noumowe,
Failure analysis of FRP-strengthened RC beams. Journal of
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[10] Saenz, LP. Discussion of Equation for the stress-strain
curve of concrete by Desayi P, Krishnan S. ACI Journal
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