Modeling of insulated CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete T-beam exposed to fire

The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) has been established as one of the possible techniques to strengthen concrete beams in flexure and shear. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) has been identified as the material of choice in civil infrastructure applications. The fire performance of such CFRP-strengthened members and their resistance to heat transfer and to various environmental exposure factors need to be investigated. In this paper, a detailed finite element model of a CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete T-beam is developed. The model accounts for the variation in thermal and mechanical parameters of the beams’ constituent materials with temperature, including CFRP and insulation materials. Nonlinear time domain transient thermal-stress finite element analysis is performed using the commercial software ANSYS to study the heat transfer mechanism and deformation within the beam for fire conditions initiating at the bottom of the beam. To relate the simulation to an actual case, a reinforced concrete T-beam strengthened with CFRP and fire-tested by other investigators is modeled. The progression of temperature in the beam, CFRP, reinforcing steel, and along the CFRP–concrete interface is compared to the observed fire test data. Overall, the predicted temperature results are in good agreement with the measured ones. In addition, the mid-span deflection increases nonlinearly during the fire exposure time due to the increase in the total strain on the tension side of the beams and due to concrete cracking. Successful FE modeling of this structure provides an economical, alternative solution to expensive experimental investigations.