Carlos Chastre

The design of timber beams has strict limits when it comes to the Serviceability Limit States (SLS) either in short-term or in long-term deflections. In order to face this aspect efficiently, the increase of the cross section of the beams might be considered as a solution. However, the prohibitive increase of the costs associated to this solution or the change of the initial architecturedesign of the building, opens the opportunity to find new and more efficient solutions. In that way, the use of additional reinforcements to the timber beams may be seen as a promising solution because either new or old structures would keep always their original aesthetical aspect with no significant self-weight increase and improving their behaviour to short and long-term actions.Therefore, the current study is dedicated to the analysis of composite timber beams where Fiber Reinforcement Polymers (FRP), steel or stainless steel are used to improve the stiffness, strength and deflection behaviour of old suspended timber floors. An experimental program was conducted where old suspended timber floors reinforced with CFRP strips were subjected to 4-point bending tests. A simplify nonlinear numerical model was developed to simulate the bending behaviour of the specimens and several other cases with other reinforcement configurations and different structural materials were assumed. The numerical analysis herein presented also takes into account both Ultimate and Serviceability Limit States of the reinforced specimens.

A utilização de Polímeros Reforçados com Fibras (FRP) no reforço de estruturas de Betão Armado (BA) tem tido cada vez mais aceitação devido à sua elevada resistência e rigidez, baixo peso específico e excelente resistência aos efeitos dos agentes ambientais. No entanto, actualmente, é comum utilizarem-se técnicas de reforço que dificilmente permitem tirar partido da resistência total destes materiais. Com o objectivo de explorar a capacidade total de Polímeros Reforçados com Fibras de Carbono (CFRP), foram estudadas e desenvolvidas duas novas técnicas de reforço de vigas à flexão designadas por Continuous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends (CREatE) e Horizontal Near Surface Mounted Reinforcement (HNSMR). Posteriormente realizou-se um estudo comparativo entre o desempenho destes sistemas de reforço e o de duas outras técnicas já estudadas e usuais, nomeadamente os sistemas Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) e Near Surface Mounted Reinforcement (NSMR). A técnica CREatE provou ser a mais eficaz de todas as alternativas testadas mobilizando a totalidade do compósito de CFRP e dotando as vigas de BA com uma maior capacidade resistente e com uma ductilidade mais elevada.Como complemento deste trabalho experimental, desenvolveu-se também um programa de cálculo em MATLAB, capaz de simular o problema em estudo através de um modelo numérico de análise não linear através do equilíbrio de secções. A representatividade dos dados obtidos foi verificada através de uma análise comparativa entre os valores numéricos e os obtidos experimentalmente.The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in order to strengthen Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures has been increasingly accepted due to their strength and stiffness, low weight and excellent resistance to the effects of environmental aggressive agents. However, the bonding techniques available and described in the literature can not allow the full use of the mechanical properties of these materials and premature failures are often observed and described by several researchers. In order to explore the full capacity of CFRP composites, two new bonding strengthening techniques of RC beams when subjected to 4-point bending tests were studied and developed. For these new techniques, the designation of Continuous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends (CREatE) and Horizontal Near Surface Mounted Reinforcement (HNSMR) has been assigned. Posteriorly, a comparative study has been carried out between those strengthening systems performance and two traditional techniques, namely, the Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) and Near Surface Mounted Reinforcement (NSMR). The CREatE technique has proved to be the most effective of all alternatives tested, with the full utilization of the CFRP composite and the highest strength, combined with the highest ductility. A code using MATLAB software was developed as a complement of this experimental work, which is able to simulate the problem under study through a nonlinear numerical model based on the equilibrium of sections. The representativeness of the numerical data has been verified afterwards through a comparative analysis between those and the experimental results.

Reinforced concrete (RC) beams externally strengthened with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) strips bonded to the soffit may see their load-carrying capacity reduced due to environmental conditions—especially due to the deterioration of bond between the adhesively bonded laminates and concrete, causing premature failure.
More research has been published on the detachment of the laminate progressing from the anchorage zone than on failure induced by the formation of flexural or shear-flexural cracks in the midspan followed by fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) separation and failure designated as intermediate crack (IC) debonding. An experimental program to study degradation of the GFRP laminate beam specimens after accelerated temperature cycles, namely: 1) freezing-and-thawing type; and 2) cycles of the same amplitude (40°C [104°F]) and an upper limit approximately 70% of the glass vitreous transition temperature of the resin, Tg, is described.
Effects on the bond stress and ultimate capacity are reported. Substantial differences between shear and bending-induced failure and a decrease of bond stresses and engagement of the laminates on the structural response are analyzed.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites have a large potential for strengthening and retrofitting steel parts but due to their premature debonding from steel, further data and research are still required for wider application in such situations. In the present paper, the bond characteristics of CFRP-to-steel joints in pull-pull loaded conditions were studied. Monotonic loading of the double strap joints with different bond lengths was applied and the failure modes and interfacial bond-slip curves were obtained. A tri-linear bondslip model is proposed and it was derived from the experimental data. A closed-form solution approach is also proposed based on the tri-linear bond-slip model. The strength of the CFRP-to-steel interface, the distribution of the relative displacements between bonded materials, the strains developed in the CFRP laminate and the bond stresses along the interface are reported and the closed-form solution is compared with the experimental results. Two cases are selected for presentation: (i) one with the bond length greater than the effective bond length; and, inversely, (ii) one with bond length which is shorter than the effective bond length. The results predicted by the closed-form solutions are shown to be accurate enough when compared to the experiments.

Gravity loads can affect a reinforced concrete structure’s response to seismic actions, however, traditional procedures for testing the beam behaviour do not take this effect into consideration. An experimental campaign was carried out in order to assess the influence of the gravity load on RC beam connection to the column subjected to cyclic loading. The experiments included the imposition of a conventional quasi-static test protocol based on the imposition of a reverse cyclic displacement history and of an alternative cyclic test procedure starting from the gravity load effects. The test results are presented, compared and analysed in this paper. The imposition of a cyclic test procedure that included the gravity loads effects on the RC beam ends reproduces the demands on the beams’ critical zones more realistically than the traditional procedure. The consideration of the vertical load effects in the test procedure led to an accumulation of negative (hogging) deformation. This phenomenon is sustained with the behaviour of a portal frame system under cyclic loads subject to a significant level of the vertical load, leading to the formation of unidirectional plastic hinges. In addition, the hysteretic behaviour of the RC beam ends tested was simulated numerically using the nonlinear structural analysis software – OpenSees. The beam–column model simulates the global element behaviour very well, as there is a reasonable approximation to the hysteretic loops obtained experimentally.

A set of three old suspended timber floors were flexurally strengthened with carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips in order to investigate the effectiveness of externally bonding FRP to their soffits. The specimens were from an old building and 740-mm-wide bands were transferred to the laboratory in order to be tested in a four-point bending test. One specimen was tested with no strengthening system and the results obtained were used as reference values for comparison with the specimens that were externally bonded and reinforced (EBR) with CFRP strips. Two similar EBR systems were studied: (1) keeping both ends of the CFRP strips free of any restriction (traditional technique), and (2) embedding both ends of the CFRP strips into the timber, thus providing a bonding anchorage of the strips (new technique). The installation of the new strengthening system comprises the opening of holes in the timber and the creation of a transition curve between the holes and the timber surface. This transition curve allows a smooth transition of the CFRP laminate between the hole and the timber surface, thus avoiding stress concentrations in this area. After the opening of the holes, the resin is applied inside the hole and on the beam surface, and then the CFRP laminate is mounted. The load-carrying capacity of the specimens, the rupture modes, and the strains and bond stress distributions within the CFRP-to-timber interface are presented. A nonlinear numerical simulation of the specimens based on the midspan cross-sectional equilibrium is also presented. The results showed that the use of the new strengthening system enhances the performance of the specimens when compared with the traditional strengthening system.

Experimental research was carried out about into ethyl silicate applications on sandstone samples. Consolidation was assessed by drilling strength, impregnation depth and also monotonic and cyclic uniaxial compressive tests in order to evaluate the compressive mechanical behaviour of treated sandstone. The stress–strain compression diagrams showed a significant increase in the values of mechanical parameters after consolidation treatments. The difference in compressive strength values between monotonic and cyclic compression disappears after the consolidation treatments. An equation of consolidation effect was obtained from an analytical model by means of compressive behaviour assessed by stress–strain diagrams. These sandstone samples have values of porosity similar to the more weathered variety of sandstone found in facades of monuments in the village of Atouguia da Baleia, in the western region of Portugal. The most important degradation pattern found on sandstone building stones is alveolization caused by salt crystallization since the Middle Ages.

This article presents a nonlinear analytical solution for the prediction of the full-range debonding response of mechanically anchored, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites from the substrate. The nonlinear analytical approach predicts, for any monotonic loading history or bonded length, the relative displacements (or slips) between materials, the strains in the FRP composite, the bond stresses within the interface, and the stresses developed in the substrate. The load-slip responses of FRP-to-substrate interfaces with short and long bonded lengths are motives of analysis and discussion. The solutions obtained from the proposed approach are also compared with other experimental results found in the literature.

This paper deals with the coupled effect of temperature and silica fume addition on rheological, mechanical behaviour and porosity of grouts based on CEMI 42.5R, proportioned with a polycarboxylate-based high range water reducer. Preliminary tests were conducted to focus on the grout best able to fill a fibrous network since the goal of this study was to develop an optimized grout able to be injected in a mat of steel fibers for concrete strengthening. The grout composition was developed based on criteria for fresh state and hardened state properties. For a CEMI 42.5R based grout different high range water reducer dosages (0, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.7%) and silica fume (SF) dosages (0, 2%, 4%) were tested (as replacement of cement by mass). Rheological measurements were used to investigate the effect of polycarboxylates (PCE) and SF dosage on grout properties, particularly its workability loss, as the mix was to be injected in a matrix of steel fibers for concrete jacketing. The workability behaviour was characterized by the rheological parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity (for different grout temperatures and resting times), as well as the procedures of mini slump cone and funnel flow time. Then, further development focused only on the best grout compositions. The cement substitution by 2% of SF exhibited the best overall behaviour and was considered as the most promising compared to the others compositions tested. Concerning the fresh state analysis, a significant workability loss was detected if grout temperature increased above 35°C. Below this temperature the grout presented a self-levelling behaviour and a life time equal to 45 minutes. In the hardened state, silica fumes increased not only the grout’s porosity but also the grout’s compressive strength at later ages, since the pozzolanic contribution to the compressive strength does not occur until 28 days and beyond.

The strengthening of reinforced concrete structures by means of externally bonded fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) is now routinely considered and applied in the retrofit or strengthening of structures. FRP composites have received a considerable attention from civil engineers in recent years due to the high strength-weight and stiffness/weight ratios when compared to other materials. However, when FRP composites are bonded to a concrete surface, there is a persistent potential problem that the FRP plates may debond prematurely from the concrete. This is a very important issue for the engineers who have to focus on the computational modelling of this phenomenon. Some studies can be found in literature on computational modelling. However, there is very little information about the best modelling of the interface between FRP composites and concrete and this work is intended to help bridge this gap. The computational analysis presented here is based on three-dimensional software which assumes the smeared crack model, and the interface finite elements (FEs) used have a rupture criteria based on the Mohr-Coulomb criterion with tension cut-off. The definition of these FEs was based on double shear tests that were performed specifically for this purpose and they have shown that the debonding phenomenon can be predicted with some accuracy. In total, 10 double shear models were studied and the results were compared with the 21 experimental tests performed. The double shear tests consisted of applying loads to 2 layered GFRP laminates bonded to a 150 mm concrete cube with a bonded area of 150 × 80 mm (length × width). Double shear models with and without a gap interface were considered in order to emphasize the importance of modelling the GFRP-to-concrete interface with interface finite elements. The effect of the concrete strength on the interface performance was also considered. An externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) concrete T-beam strengthened with 2 GFRP layers is presented to illustrate the application of the method. The wet lay-up technique was used for the external reinforcement of a reinforced concrete T-beam and then tested under a four point bending test until rupture. The results are reported and differences between the numerical and the experimental results are discussed.

Based on a few experimental results available in the literature, this work presents a simple analytical approach that allows the study of the long-term behaviour of CFRP-to-concrete interfaces under an initial sustaining load. Only the elastic regime is studied, which means that the interfacial maximum bond stress and maximum slip are never exceeded. Therefore, the maximum initial load to be sustained by the joints is limited by its corresponding elastic value. The analytical results provided by the proposed model are compared with some experimental results found in the literature. The results showed strain redistribution throughout the bonded length over the time.

Sandstone building stones are important in the building elements of Portuguese monuments, particularly in the western and southern regions. Alveolization due to salt crystallization was the most important degradation pattern found in the old sandstone façades of buildings in the village of Atouguia da Baleia. Because weathering progressively increases porosity in stones, experimental research was conducted on the most porous variety of sandstone, which is similar to the type of stones found in the façades of ancient buildings in that village. An automatic salt crystallization accelerated ageing chamber was developed. Monotonic and cyclic uniaxial compressive tests were carried out on samples after sodium chloride crystallization ageing tests had been performed, in order to assess the compressive mechanical behavior of sandstone during accelerated ageing. The results of stress–strain compression diagrams showed a clear decreasing trend in the values of mechanical parameters during the salt crystallization ageing progress. The difference in compressive strength values between monotonic and cyclic compression also decreases with as salt crystallization ageing progresses. A predictive equation that correlates the compressive strength of sandstones with salt crystallization ageing cycles is proposed.