Investigation of concrete-filled steel tube beams strengthened with CFRP against impact loads

摘要

As a promising strengthening solution, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets have been used to improve the structural response of concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) in service loads, owing to the durability and high strength-to-weight ratio provided by CFRP. Despite the wealth of knowledge available in the literature on how CFRP sheets contribute to strengthening CFSTs under static loads, there is a research gap regarding how the strengthened structural components respond to lateral impact loads, due to vehicle and vessel collision, as well as wind and water-borne debris impact. This was the motivation of the current study to establish a computational framework supported by experimental tests to evaluate the performance of CFST beams with and without CFRP under a set of impact scenarios. For this purpose, a range of influential aspects related to CFRP, concrete, and steel, as well as impact energy, are investigated. Such a holistic assessment provides unique information to answer fundamental and practical questions regarding the use of CFRP for strengthening of CFST beams against impact loads. To further assist with the proper configuration of CFRP-strengthened CFST beams, a section analysis method is developed and validated as the outcome of this study.