Strengthening of steel structures with fatigue cracks using adhesively bonded non-prestressed and prestressed CFRP lamellas

Abstract

In comparison to classic strengthening methods of fatigue-damaged steel structures, adhesively bonded CFRP lamellas show several advantages. Compared to bolted reinforcement measures and the drilling of the crack tip, crosssectional weakening is avoided. Heat-induced, negatively acting residual stresses and distortions, usually occurring during repair welding, can also be excluded. Therefore, the effectiveness of adhesively bonded CFRP lamellas to enhance the remaining lifetime of fatigue damaged steel structures is examined in a German research project. Selected results are presented in this paper. To characterize the steel, CFRP and adhesive materials, different tests on small scale specimens are carried out. With the help of fatigue tests on CT-samples the remaining fatigue lifetimes of specimens strengthened with adhesively bonded CFRP lamellas is compared to the remaining lifetimes of specimens strengthened by established methods such as drilling the crack tip and repair welding. Based on the evaluation of the crack propagation after the rehabilitation measures, the great potential of adhesively bonded CFRP reinforcements can be deduced. By prestressing the lamellas, the remaining lifetime can generally be increased further. The combination of adhesively bonded CFRP lamellas together with established rehabilitation methods shows a particularly high positive influence on the remaining lifetime of the CT-specimens.