Fracture mechanic modeling of fiber reinforced polymer shear-strengthened reinforced concrete beam

• Main Authors: Shahbazpanahi, Shahriar, Abang Ali, Abang Abdullah, Kamgar, Alaleh, Farzadnia, Nima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2015
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/44855/1/POLYMER.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/44855/; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359836814003795

A numerical method is developed to model shear-strengthening of reinforced concrete beam by using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Tensile crack is simulated by a non-linear spring element with softening behavior ahead of the crack tip to model the cohesive zone in concrete. A truss element is used, parallel to the spring element, to simulate the energy dissipation rate by the FRP. The strain energy release rate is calculated directly by using a virtual crack closure technique. It is observed that the length of the fracture process zone (FPZ) increases with the application of FRP shear-strengthening. The present model shows that the main diagonal crack is formed at the support in the control beam while it appears through the shear span in the shear-strengthened beam. Another important observation is that the load capacity increases with the number of CFRP sheets in the shear span.