An experimental, analytical and numerical study of the static behavior of steel beams reinforced by pultruded CFRP strips

The paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical programme to characterize the static behaviour of steel beams reinforcement by pultruded carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. Traditional H shaped steel beams with different CFRP reinforcement geometries bonded to the tension flanges using different epoxy adhesives were tested under three points bending configuration. Beams were not naturally or artificially corroded or notched but they were in good conditions before testing. The mid-span deflection and the strain along the whole CFRP lamina were recorded as function of the applied loading. The main objective of the experimental programme was the evaluation of the force transfer mechanism, the increment of the beam load carrying capacity and the bending stiffness. It allowed also to validate different analytical and numerical models for the static analysis of reinforced beams. In particular, a finite element model validated against the experimental data is presented.