The development of a dynamic fracture propagation model for FRP-strengthened beam-column joints

Abstract

Accurate modeling is required to investigate the behavior of concrete structures strengthened by carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). There is, however, limited knowledge on the use of dynamic modeling to study the crack propagation in the beam-column joints strengthened by CFRP. A finite element model is developed to study crack propagation in the CFRP-strengthened joints under dynamic loads. A three-dimensional model is developed to predict the crack propagation under cyclic loading in the ABAQUS software. In this study, dynamic fracture analysis is used to model the crack propagation in the concrete material. Furthermore, the model is used to predict dynamic debonding in CFRP strengthened with the fracture mechanics approach. The results of the present study showed a good agreement with previous experimental results by about 7.1-11.6 %. The proposed model indicates that the crack propagation is controlled by using CFRP composites in the beam-column joint. Furthermore, it is observed that the width of strut zone in the joint increases by the using of FRP strengthening.