Date of Award

2019

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Keywords

BFRP, Fiber Reinforced Polymer, Finite element modelling, Rehabilitation, Steel structures, Structural Engineering

Supervisor

Sreekanta Das

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

The deterioration in structural integrity of North America’s aging infrastructure, and the global initiative towards the use of sustainable materials in construction necessitates the use of cost-effective and eco-friendly methods for infrastructure rehabilitation. Previous studies have concluded that carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) are effective in rehabilitating steel and concrete structures. However, there are limited reports on the use of eco-friendly basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP). This research presents the feasibility of BFRP composites in rehabilitating steel I-beams with corrosion defects on the bottom flange as well as on the top flange through experimental and finite element methods. It was observed that BFRP composite fabric was effective in increasing the yield and ultimate load capacities of corroded steel beams. The structural behavior of rehabilitated steel beams including the complex behavior of rupture in the BFRP composite fabric was successfully modelled using Abaqus software. A good correlation between the finite element models and the experimental results was obtained, and equations for determining the optimal number of BFRP layers was developed. The results of the numerical analysis suggest that the ultimate load capacity of steel beams with corrosion defect in the bottom flange of depth 40% of flange thickness and aspect ratio of four can be restored using 12 layers of BFRP. For steel beams with corrosion defect in the top flange of depth 40% of flange thickness, 15 layers of BFRP fabrics was required for restoring the ultimate strength.

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