Bond Behaviour of Near-Surface Mounted Strips in RC Beams—Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulations

This paper presents an investigation of the bond mechanism between carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates, concrete and steel in the near-surface mounted (NSM) CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beam-bond tests. The experimental program consisting of thirty modified concrete beams flexurally strengthened with NSM CFRP strips was published in. The effects of five parameters and their interactions on the ultimate load carrying capacities and the associated bond mechanisms of the beams are investigated in this paper with consideration of the following investigated parameters: beam span, beam depth, longitudinal tensile steel reinforcement ratio, the bond length of the CFRP strips and compressive concrete strength. The longitudinal steel reinforcement was cut at the beam mid-span in four beams to investigate a better assessment of the influence of the steel reinforcement ratio on the bond behaviour of CFRP to concrete bond behaviour. The numerical analysis implemented in this paper is based on a nonlinear micromechanical finite element model (FEM) that was used for investigation of the flexural behaviour of NSM CFRP-strengthened members. The 3D model based on advanced CFRP to concrete bond responses was introduced to modelling of tested specimens. The FEM procedure presents the orthotropic behaviour of the CFRP strips and the bond response between the CFRP and concrete. Comparison of the experimental and numerical results revealed an excellent agreement that confirms the suitability of the proposed FE model.