Interlaminar and intralaminar durability characterization of wet layup carbon/epoxy used in external strengthening

Carbon fibers in unidirectional fabric form are increasingly being used as a means of strengthening deteriorating and understrength concrete components and systems through application as externally bonded reinforcement. The use of wet layup process under ambient conditions makes these composites susceptible to moisture and environment-related deterioration. In addition since the composite is formed in the field, often in overhead or vertical configurations, by sequential placement of fabric layers, it is critical, for the assessment of materials integrity, to characterize damage mechanisms and durability of interlaminar and intralaminar performance characteristics. It is shown that aqueous exposure, as well as freeze–thaw, results in significant fiber–matrix debonding, and this causes deterioration in short-beam-shear and in-plane shear characteristics. Changes in interlaminar properties are seen to be correlated with moisture uptake. It is also seen that fracture toughness, in the short-term, is enhanced by some of these exposures due to plasticization and flexibilizing of the matrix, which assists in the blunting of crack front progression. However, when accompanied by chemical degradation, such as with immersion in alkali solution, and embrittlement caused by low temperature exposure, GIC values are seen to deteriorate as well. The data provides a crucial set of material characteristics for consideration side-by-side with fiber dominated characteristics (such as tensile strength and modulus, which are the only ones considered conventionally in rehabilitation design), since the matrix dominated properties will often be the critical links in determining service life.