Flexural behaviour of reinforced or prestressed concrete beams including strengthening with prestressed carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets: application of a fracture mechanics approach

Abstract

This paper describes the application of a fracture mechanics model (Hillerborg 1990) to concrete structures, including strengthening with prestressed carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. One benefit of the proposed fracture mechanics model, consisting of a unique combined stress–strain response of concrete, is that it includes the size effect of reinforced concrete beams; however, its application and validation have not been fully investigated. The proposed model is reviewed and further developed to cover prestressed concrete beams including a beam strengthened with a prestressed CFRP sheet. To evaluate the model, various approaches such as finite element analysis, a strength-based model, a conventional design method, and experimental results are compared with the fracture mechanics model. The size-dependent parameter (ε1) significantly affects the predicted behaviour of reinforced or prestressed concrete beams, depending on the contribution of reinforcement. Based on the current assessment, ε1 = 0.005 is recommended as an upper limit for normal strength concrete.Key words: carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheet, flexure, fracture mechanics, prestressed concrete beam, reinforced concrete beam, strengthening, size effect.