Flexural Strengthening of Steel Structures with Fiber-Reinforced Polymers and Analysis Using ANSYS

Fiber-reinforced polymer has different material properties like higher strength, corrosion-resistant properties, and good durability. Fiber-reinforced polymer also has ability to restore decreased capacity of deteriorated structures. Moreover, most of the research has been conducted regarding applications of composites in concrete structures when it is compared to steel structures. It is said that tensile Young’s modulus is lower than steel. Durability can be increased by wrapping the FRPs externally, thereby reducing the stresses of steel beam. The current research proposed the use of a new high modulus carbon fiber-reinforced polymer for strengthening of steel structures by applying laminates externally to the bottom flange of beam. Finite element modeling has been used for analysis to suggest some design guidelines. The experimental results obtained confirmed the effective enhancement in flexural capacity.