Research Activities: 2012

Numerical Simulation of CFRP-Repaired Reinforced Concrete Columns
 
 Status Complete                       View Final Report: PDF
 
Sequential Number R347
 
Identification Number 00042532
   
Matching Research Agency

Missouri University of Science & Technology
 
Principal Investigator

Lesley Sneed
Assistant Professor
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, MO 65409
(573) 341-4553
sneedlh@mst.edu
 
Student Involvement

One graduate student
 

Project Objective		 This project was initially awarded by the University of Missouri Research Board as seed funding to carry out large-scale testing and preliminary analysis on rapidly repaired, severely damaged bridge columns subjected to combined loading effects. Funding requestedfrom NUTC in this proposal is to support the numerical simulation of the repaired columns' behaviors
by the PhD student, which will complete her PhD work. To date, this study has led to the publication of 3 journal papers and one conference paper, and at least one additional manuscript will result from the work described in this proposal.
 

Project Abstract		 Damage to bridge structures during an earthquake can have devastating social and economic consequences, particularly for bridges located along key routes critical for emergency response and other essential functions. According to ATC 18, damage to important bridges should be repairable
within three days. Thus rapid and effective repair methods for varying levels of damage are needed to enable quick opening of these bridges and to minimize impact on the community. The subject of this study is the rapid repair of severely-damaged concrete bridge columns under combined loading effects.
The term "rapid" in the context of this study refers to a 3-day time period as defined in the literature. Research in this field is currently limited to the repair of columns with slight to moderate damage levels; thus this research will fill in a critical gap in the literature with respect to the severe damage level. In this study, one-half scale concrete bridge columns that have been tested to failure as part of a separate ongoing study are repaired using externally-bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) wrap. The repaired columns are then tested under the same loading regime as the original columns, combined action of bending, shear, torsion, and axial effects, and the behavior is compared directly with the original
response. Since the current literature contains little information with respect to repair of columns subjected to torsion, the inclusion of torsion in the combined loading is a significant contribution to the state of knowledge, and represents a more comprehensive and realistic loading condition than without. Results of this study will also serve as the basis for and add credibility to future proposals on repair of damaged reinforced columns, with high potential for collaboration with leading researchers in this field.
 

Relationship to other Research/Projects

This research was initially funded by the University of Missouri Research Board (UMRB) as a pilot study. The results to date have led to the collaboration with the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Houston on a project currently funded by Caltrans and NUTC entitled, "Emergency Repair of Damaged Bridge Columns Using Mechanical Splices."
   

Transportation-Related Keywords

 Bridge superstructures, repair, fiber reinforced polymer
   

Technology Transfer Activities

 Results of this study will be disseminated through a presentation (poster) at the NUTC conference at Missouri S&T and at least one technical peer-reviewed journal article.
   

Project Deliverables

 A final report will be submitted to NUTC describing the results of the work
conducted during the project period.
   

Anticipated Benefits

Results will fill in gaps in the literature on several topics including: rapid repair of severely damaged concrete members, behavior of reinforced concrete columns subjected to combined loading effects, and strengthening/repair of members subjected to torsion using externally bonded CFRP.
Results will serve as the basis for and add credibility to future proposals on repair of reinforced concrete columns, with high potential for collaboration with leading researchers in this field. Finally, this project will complete the student's PhD work.

Milestones
Project Start Date: 05/01/2013
Project End Date:

12/31/2013