The effect of CFRP strengthening on the behavior of deficient steel beams under concentrated and distributed loading

Abstract

The method of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthening is a technique that is rapidly developed and used for strengthening of steel structures in recent years. Most previous research in the area of CFRP strengthening of steel structures has been conducted on the behavior of flawless steel structures. Based on the author's knowledge, the behavior of CFRP-strengthened deficient square hollow section (SHS) steel beams under concentrated and distributed loads has not been studied. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the behavior and performance of CFRP-strengthened deficient SHS steel beams under concentrated and distributed loads. Finite element method (FEM), using ANSYS, has been employed for modeling of steel beams. Ten steel beams, two non-strengthened steel beams and eight CFRP-strengthened steel beams have been analyzed. The results indicate the dimensions and number of composite layers is being effective on the ultimate capacity of the SHS steel beams. Also, the results have shown that in deficient steel beams CFRP can significantly be recovered the strength lost due to deficiency.