Durability of CFRP strengthened steel circular hollow section member exposed to sea water

• Strength reduction is noticeable for CFRP strengthened steel member in saline water.
• GFRP layer enhances durability in marine environment.
• Durability design factor is proposed for marine environment.

This paper presents the results from a research program to investigate the durability of CFRP strengthened steel circular hollow section (CHS) members with and without embedded glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) at ambient (24 °C ± 4 °C) and 50 °C temperatures under accelerated corrosion environment. The beams were tested to failure under four-point bending. It was found that the accelerated corrosion adversely affected the durability of the strengthened beams at both temperatures and the embedded GFRP enhanced the durability. Durability design factor has also been recommended. The proposed theoretical approach predicts ultimate loads reasonably compared to experimental value of ultimate loads.