Sustainability of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams Sunder Sea Water Splash Zone

Abstract

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) has found great applications in the building and construction industry. However; there is a limited theoretical and experimental research in this area. This report investigates the durability of the bonding between external CFRPs and the concrete. Partially loaded CFRP concrete samples at various load intensity were subjected to several sets of environmental exposure conditions. The studied parameters include actual marine environment (provided by AUS and placed in the Construction Materials Lab), loading effects, humidity and moisture, high thermal effects, and ageing tests. The main purpose of this project is to develop a method for estimating the reduction in bond properties due to combinations of the above exposures that are used as a degradation measures. The design team utilized the various relevant courses studied at AUS in structural and material areas to achieve our goals. The obtained results will provide new systematic technical data on the structural properties and long term behavior that will enable proper application of CFRP in UAE structures. Preloading Failure is shown in three specimens out of 12 specimens. One of them was in open dry environment and the other two were in the splash zone. Comparing the higher loaded specimens with the lower loaded ones of the same exposure type, it was found that the higher sustained loaded ones have higher deformation. Observing the failure deformation of specimen in different environmental exposure, the more severe the environment, the more deterioration in bond properties. Higher temperature exposure caused material brittleness and failure in the bond.