Strengthening cast iron struts using carbon fibre reinforced polymers – Finite element modelling

This paper presents a comparison between experimentally observed behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composite (CFRP) reinforced cast iron struts and the predictions from a non-linear finite element analysis. The paper details the problems encountered in the FE modelling and the solutions to those problems. It is shown that the FE predictions can be used with confidence to explore various parameters that affect the behaviour of CFRP reinforced structures. Results from these parametric studies are also presented.