Use of basalt fiber fabric for rehabilitation of steel beams with corroded compression flange

摘要

The deterioration of aging infrastructures and global initiative for the use of sustainable materials in construction necessitate use of eco-friendly materials for rehabilitation of these infrastructures. Previous studies have concluded that fibre reinforced polymers are effective in rehabilitating steel beams with corrosion defect in tension and shear zones. However, no previous studies were undertaken on rehabilitation of corroded compression zone of a steel flexural member. This paper presents an effective technique for a successful rehabilitation of steel I-beams that have developed corrosion defect in the compression flange using ecofriendly basalt fibre fabric. The structural behavior of rehabilitated steel beams including the complex behavior of rupture in the basalt fibre fabric was successfully modelled using finite element method. The validated finite element model was used for completing a detailed parametric study and the results obtained from the parametric study was used to develop a design equation. This equation can be used by the practicing engineers and other researchers as a reference for determining the optimum number of basalt fibre fabric layer needed for successful rehabilitation of steel beams that have developed corrosion defect in the compression flange.