Ultimate Strength Of Concrete Beams Strengthened By CFRP Fabric And Laminates, At High And Freezing Temperatures

The use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminate systems, for strengthening of structures has gained popularity in recent years.Previous researches indicate that one of the difficulties facing this system is its behavior under high and freezing temperatures. this study investigates the behavior of concrete beams strengthened by CFRP fabrics and laminates, under high and freezing temperatures. in this studies, 24 non-reinforcement concrete beams of 30 x 100 x 100 mm sizes were cast using three different concrete strength. After curing, these beams were strengthened using both flexible and hard CFRP sheets. After setting and hardening of the glue used to adhere the CFRP sheets on to the concrete beams, they were exposed to -20°C, °C and °C temperatures, before undergoing the four point flexural test. Results of study indicate that while the failure of the CFRP sheets at room temperature seems to be due to the flexural cracking, the mode of failures at very low and high temperatures is due to the shear stresses. It may be said that, in addition to the effect of low and high temperatures on the adhesion between the CFRP sheet and substrate concrete, the materials properties involved in this systems are also seriously affected by the extreme temperatures. Examination of the ultimate strength of the strengthened beams also indicates that as the temperature reaches the glass transition temperature of the glue, the reduction in the ultimate strength becomes noticeable. Comparison of the experimental results with the related results of the analytical method, is also presented in this paper.