Masters Theses

Abstract

"Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) has become increasingly used for the retrofit of aging structures for increased lifespans and for the rapid repair of damaged structures. It has many advantageous such as ease in rapid installation, high strength-to-weight ratio, and corrosion resistance. The main disadvantage of the material is brittle behavior with little warning of impending failures. The main objective of this study is to develop a new system of FRP that exhibits a more ductile behavior. To achieve this objective, separate sheets of FRP were applied at various staged levels and thus engaged at different loads. Ductile behavior was evaluated based on the ability of the FRP sheets to fail the conventional layers before the staged layers. To realize the staged installation of FRP sheets, two methods were explored in this thesis. The first method is to apply FRP sheets under various preloads up to the design load. Such staged FRP sheets theoretically have uniformly distributed debonding points but practically result in irregular spacing between adjacent debonding points. The second method is to intentionally create intermittent debonding areas in arch shape so that regular spacing between debonding areas can be achieved as FRP sheets are applied. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the new FRP system, a total of 25 thin steel sheets were tension tested to determine their stress-strain curves with various implementations of FRP sheets under preloading. Additionally, 14, 11 ft x 6 in x 18 in reinforced concrete beams were tested to evaluate the effectiveness of FRP sheets directly applied in stage. Test results indicate that the new FRP system is a promising approach to improve the behavior of FRP applications in civil engineering from brittle to pseudo ductile due to nonlinear geometry effects"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Chen, Genda

Committee Member(s)

Volz, Jeffery S.
Sneed, Lesley

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Civil Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Pagination

xiii, 108 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (page 36).

Rights

© 2012 Laura Marie Rathe, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Concrete -- DuctilityConcrete-filled tubesReinforced concrete -- Stress corrosionReinforced concrete -- Testing

Thesis Number

T 9983

Print OCLC #

815650717

Electronic OCLC #

779970439

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