Study on stripping mechanism of steel plate strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer by cohesive zone model

Abstract

When carbon fiber reinforced polymer is applied to reinforce a steel plate, the end of it tends to debond which could cause a failure. In this article, the finite element model of carbon fiber reinforced polymer–reinforced steel plate was established based on the cohesive zone model and validated by the linear elasticity model and experiments at bonding stage and stripping stage, through which the stripping mechanism of the adhesive layer was studied. It had been proved by the test results of carbon fiber reinforced polymer–reinforced steel plate that the shear stress was the main factor of stripping damage, the whole stripping process consisted of elastic deformation, softening and stripping, and that the stripping began from the end to the middle of carbon fiber reinforced polymer until complete failure. Therefore, the cohesive zone model was suitable for the analysis of carbon fiber reinforced polymer–reinforced steel plate.