Basalt FRP Spike Repairing of Wood Beams
This article describes aspects within an experimental program aimed at improving the structural performance of cracked solid fir-wood beams repaired with Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) spikes. Fir wood is characterized by its low density, low compression strength, and high level of defects, and it is likely to distort when dried and tends to fail under tension due to the presence of cracks, knots, or grain deviation. The proposed repair technique consists of the insertion of BFRP spikes into timber beams to restore the continuity of cracked sections. The experimental efforts deal with the evaluation of the bending strength and deformation properties of 24 timber beams. An artificially simulated cracking was produced by cutting the wood beams in half or notching. The obtained results for the repaired beams were compared with those of solid undamaged and damaged beams, and increases of beam capacity, bending strength and of modulus of elasticity, and analysis of failure modes was discussed. For notched beams, the application of the BFRP spikes was able to restore the original bending capacity of undamaged beams, while only a small part of the original capacity was recovered for beams that were cut in half.
A method for flexural reinforcement of old wood beams with CFRP materials
This paper presents a study on the reinforcement of existing wood elements under bending loads through the use of FRP materials. An analytical investigation was first conducted on the behavior of a generic FRP-reinforced wood section. This study, in turn, led to a numerical procedure based on non-linear wood properties, suitable for application in the design of FRP reinforcement of old, pre-existing wood beams under varying configurations of intervention layouts and materials. An experimental programme based on a four-point bending test configuration is proposed to characterize the stiffness, ductility and strength response of FRP-wood beams. Mechanical tests on the reinforced wood showed that external bonding of FRP materials may produce increases in flexural stiffness and capacity. The FRP composite material was made of High Tensile Carbon monodirectional reinforcing fabrics embedded in an epoxy resin matrix. This reinforcing method can be applied without necessitating the removal of the overhanging part of the pre-existing wood structure, thus maintaining the original historical structure. In addition, a beam non-linear model was proposed to predict ultimate load. At the end of this paper results of the experimental programme are presented and used for comparison with the numerical procedure.
Analysis of laminated beams with a layer-wise constant shear theory
Abstract Based on generalized laminate plate theory, the formulation of a one-dimensional beam finite element with layer-wise constant shear (BLCS) is presented. The linear layer-wise representation of in-plane displacements permit accurate computation of normal stresses and transverse shear stresses on each layer for laminated beams with dissimilar ply stiffnesses. The BLCS formulation is equivalent to a first-order shear deformation beam theory (Timoshenko beam theory) on each layer. For the accurate computation of interlaminar shear stresses, the layer-wise constant shear stresses obtained from constitutive relations are transformed into parabolic shear stress distributions in a post-processing operation described in detail. The accuracy of the BLCS element is demonstrated by solving several numerical examples reported in the literature. While retaining the simplicity of a laminated beam theory, the element predicts results as accurate as much more complex elasticity analyses, and it is suitable to model frame-type structures.