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In the framework of sustainable development policies, it is essential that infrastructure owners can rely on effective repair or strengthening solutions, designed and tested in relevance to actual service conditions. In the case of steel structures, fatigue damage is a major concern that can significantly affect the lifespan of the structure, and so far, there are very few operational methods capable of preventing fatigue cracks in the field. Adhesively bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are being successfully applied to the rehabilitation of concrete structures for more than two decades, and they are currently receiving much interest for the strengthening of steel elements, but mainly for curative purpose after severe damage has occurred. In the present study, which is part of a European project called FASSTbridge, a specific CFRP system has been developed as a preventive method against fatigue damage of steel structures. The proposed system consists of a commercially available ultra-high modulus (UHM) CFRP composite plate compatible with the stiffness of the host steel structures, which is bonded to the steel support using a novel hybrid epoxy/polyurethane adhesive. A first part of the paper presents the main specifications that should be adopted in the design of CFRP strengthening systems applied to steel structures, and that were identified from an extensive literature survey. These specifications have guided the development of the polymer adhesive and the choice of a peculiar commercial CFRP plate in the preliminary phase of the project. Experimental characterizations were then conducted (i) on the formulated hybrid polymer adhesive to optimize its curing schedule and check the previous specifications are fulfilled, and (ii) on CFRP reinforced steel specimens in order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening system. This experimental program involved both short term and durability tests that were performed by different laboratories. Such an inter-laboratory study made it possible to verify the performances of the developed strengthening system and to assess the influence of installation parameters and environmental conditions. The authors wish to acknowledge Epsilon Composite Company for supporting the study. This work is part of the FASSTBRIDGE project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 31109806.0008. FASSTbridge is co-funded by Funding Partners of The ERA-NET Plus Infravation and the European Commission. The Funding Partners of the Infravation 2014 Call are: MINISTERIE VAN INFRASTRUCTUUR EN MILIEU, RIJKSWATERSTAAT, BUNDESMINISTERIUM FÜR VERKEHR, BAU UND STADTENTWICKLUNG, DANISH ROAD DIRECTORATE, STATENS VEGVESEN VEGDIREKTORATET, TRAFIKVERKET – TRV, VEGAGERÐIN, MINISTERE DE L'ECOLOGIE, DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE ET DE L'ENERGIE, CENTRO PARA EL DESARROLLO TECNOLOGICO INDUSTRIAL, ANAS S.p.A., NETIVEI, ISRAEL - NATIONAL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY LTD, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION USDOT

This paper reports an experimental study performed to investigate the effectiveness of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates in extending fatigue life of old cracked metallic structures. Specimens consist of old metallic plates, mild steel and wrought iron, with one single crack emanating from a rivet hole. This cracking configuration has never been adopted in literature studies and was chosen to be representative of real cracked elements in riveted connections. Two different initial crack lengths before reinforcement, representing two degrees of fatigue damage, were adopted. Four strengthening configurations were investigated including single-sided and double-sided strengthened specimens, Normal Modulus (NM) CFRP plates with or without pre-stressing, and Ultra High Modulus (UHM) CFRP plates. «Beach marking» technique as well as crack gauge were used to monitor and record the crack propagation during fatigue loading. Experimental results show that the application of CFRP plates can effectively reduce the crack growth rate and extend the fatigue life. CFRP plates with high modulus were found to be more efficient. This study represents a contribution to the present state of research and provides some interesting results on crack propagation in CFRP repaired elements close to real riveted ones.

International audience; Fastening or reinforcement onto an existing steel structure may create constraints such as the use of hot works (i.e. welding) or loss of weathertightness (i.e. drilling holes and bolting). In order to limit these constraints, there may be a strong interest in using adhesively bonded fasteners. Such a solution requires however strong justification especially regarding long-term properties. This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical investigations realized on the creep behaviour of such bonded fasteners developed for offshore steel structures. Experimental investigations were conducted at room temperature following a precise and repeatable implementation protocol. The results of the various investigations revealed a non-linear evolution of creep displacements according to a Burger law. Numerical modelling has therefore been developed on the basis of Burger's law. A preliminary static study aimed at validating the geometric model and analyzing the initial stress state in the adhesive. The creep study was then carried out to compare numerical results to experimental ones. Although additional investigations are needed, numerically determined creep displacements demonstrated a good consistency with the experimental investigations.

Shear has been observed to be often the governing failure mode of RC cantilever deck slabs of bridges without shear reinforcement subjected to concentrated loads when tested under a quasi-static application of the load. However, concentrated loads of heavy vehicles have a repetitive nature, causing loss of stiffness and potential strength reductions due to fatigue phenomena. In this paper, the fatigue behavior of cantilever bridge deck slabs is investigated. A specific experimental programme consisting on eleven tests under concentrated fatigue loads and four static tests (reference specimens) is presented. The results show that cantilever bridge deck slabs are significantly less sensitive to shear-fatigue failures than beams without shear reinforcement. Some slabs failed due to rebar fractures. They presented significant remaining life after first rebar failure occurred and eventually failed due to shear. The test results are finally compared to the shear-fatigue provisions of the fib-Model Code 2010 and the Critical Shear Crack Theory to discuss their suitability.

Assessing the strength of existing structures has become a major issue for structural engineers. Such analyses are often performed after changes of use of the structure or due to new design codes requirements. This is particularly relevant with respect to the shear strength of post-tensioned concrete bridges. Such structures were often designed in the past with fairly low amounts of shear reinforcement and do not comply with current code requirements in terms of amount of transverse reinforcement or shear strength. However, it should be noted that codes of practice cover the design of a wide range of cases and sometimes neglect some load-carrying actions or may be too conservative for assessing others. Therefore, the use of more refined models may potentially increase the predicted shear resistance and avoid unnecessary strengthening of existing structures. In this paper, an investigation on the behaviour of post-tensioned beams with low amounts of shear reinforcement and flanges is presented. First, the results of an experimental programme on twelve reinforced concrete beams (10.0 m long, 0.78 m high) failing in shear are described. The test series is used to analyse the most significant parameters influencing the shear strength and the failure modes. Its results are compared to a number of design codes showing different levels of accuracy. The test results are finally compared to the results of analyses based on elastic–plastic stress fields. This technique shows excellent results when compared to the test results and allows investigating on the role of the various shear-carrying actions, of the prestressing level and on the transverse reinforcement amount with respect to the various potential failure modes.