Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites

The strengthening of steel beams using hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs) has gained enormous attention over the last decades. Few researchers have investigated the effectiveness of the fastening techniques without a bonding agent to overcome the undesirable debonding failure of the bonded FRP...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Omnia R. AbouEl-Hamd, Amr M. I. Sweedan, Bilal El-Ariss, Khaled M. El-Sawy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/3/824
_version_ 1797613029703024640
author Omnia R. AbouEl-Hamd
Amr M. I. Sweedan
Bilal El-Ariss
Khaled M. El-Sawy
author_facet Omnia R. AbouEl-Hamd
Amr M. I. Sweedan
Bilal El-Ariss
Khaled M. El-Sawy
author_sort Omnia R. AbouEl-Hamd
collection DOAJ
description The strengthening of steel beams using hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs) has gained enormous attention over the last decades. Few researchers have investigated the effectiveness of the fastening techniques without a bonding agent to overcome the undesirable debonding failure of the bonded FRP–steel system. This paper reports the outcomes of experimental and numerical investigations conducted on steel beams strengthened by HFRP using steel bolts. Twenty-two steel beams were tested in four-point loading to investigate the effect of the HFRP length and the bolt arrangement on the flexural behavior of the strengthened systems. The observed failure modes, load-deflection relations, deflection profiles, and strain measurements were also studied. The tested beams showed a ductile behavior, with 15.1 and 22.2% enhancements in the yield and ultimate flexural capacities, respectively. Simplified empirical equations were developed to predict the ultimate load of the bolted HFRP–steel beams. ANSYS software was used to model the beams’ behavior and investigate the effects of the HFRP thickness, bolt spacing, steel grade, loading scheme, and beam length on the effectiveness of the adopted fastening technique. Increasing the HFRP length enhanced the utilization of HFRPs as well as the beam’s ductility, with a reduction of up to 51.2% in the mid-span deflection. Moreover, the strain compatibility of the HFRP–steel beams was improved with an 87.2% reduction in the interfacial slippage. The bolt arrangement showed an insignificant effect on the overall performance of the beams. The numerical results verified the effectiveness of the fastening technique in enhancing the flexural performance of the steel beams, with gains of up to 16.7% and 34.5% in the yield and ultimate load-carrying capacities, respectively.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T06:50:10Z
format Article
id doaj.art-f51422bb30b94a7999441ecf8de58f3e
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-5309
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T06:50:10Z
publishDate 2023-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Buildings
spelling doaj.art-f51422bb30b94a7999441ecf8de58f3e2023-11-17T10:04:39ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-03-0113382410.3390/buildings13030824Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP CompositesOmnia R. AbouEl-Hamd0Amr M. I. Sweedan1Bilal El-Ariss2Khaled M. El-Sawy3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesAECOM, Clifton Office, Clifton, NJ 08854, USAThe strengthening of steel beams using hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs) has gained enormous attention over the last decades. Few researchers have investigated the effectiveness of the fastening techniques without a bonding agent to overcome the undesirable debonding failure of the bonded FRP–steel system. This paper reports the outcomes of experimental and numerical investigations conducted on steel beams strengthened by HFRP using steel bolts. Twenty-two steel beams were tested in four-point loading to investigate the effect of the HFRP length and the bolt arrangement on the flexural behavior of the strengthened systems. The observed failure modes, load-deflection relations, deflection profiles, and strain measurements were also studied. The tested beams showed a ductile behavior, with 15.1 and 22.2% enhancements in the yield and ultimate flexural capacities, respectively. Simplified empirical equations were developed to predict the ultimate load of the bolted HFRP–steel beams. ANSYS software was used to model the beams’ behavior and investigate the effects of the HFRP thickness, bolt spacing, steel grade, loading scheme, and beam length on the effectiveness of the adopted fastening technique. Increasing the HFRP length enhanced the utilization of HFRPs as well as the beam’s ductility, with a reduction of up to 51.2% in the mid-span deflection. Moreover, the strain compatibility of the HFRP–steel beams was improved with an 87.2% reduction in the interfacial slippage. The bolt arrangement showed an insignificant effect on the overall performance of the beams. The numerical results verified the effectiveness of the fastening technique in enhancing the flexural performance of the steel beams, with gains of up to 16.7% and 34.5% in the yield and ultimate load-carrying capacities, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/3/824hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs)boltedstrengtheningsteel beamHFRP lengthbolt arrangement
spellingShingle Omnia R. AbouEl-Hamd
Amr M. I. Sweedan
Bilal El-Ariss
Khaled M. El-Sawy
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
Buildings
hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs)
bolted
strengthening
steel beam
HFRP length
bolt arrangement
title Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
title_full Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
title_fullStr Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
title_full_unstemmed Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
title_short Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Steel Beams Strengthened by Bolted Hybrid FRP Composites
title_sort experimental and numerical investigation of the behavior of steel beams strengthened by bolted hybrid frp composites
topic hybrid fiber-reinforced polymers (HFRPs)
bolted
strengthening
steel beam
HFRP length
bolt arrangement
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/3/824
work_keys_str_mv AT omniarabouelhamd experimentalandnumericalinvestigationofthebehaviorofsteelbeamsstrengthenedbyboltedhybridfrpcomposites
AT amrmisweedan experimentalandnumericalinvestigationofthebehaviorofsteelbeamsstrengthenedbyboltedhybridfrpcomposites
AT bilalelariss experimentalandnumericalinvestigationofthebehaviorofsteelbeamsstrengthenedbyboltedhybridfrpcomposites
AT khaledmelsawy experimentalandnumericalinvestigationofthebehaviorofsteelbeamsstrengthenedbyboltedhybridfrpcomposites