A Prediction of the Long-Term Deflection of RC Beams Externally Bonded with CFRP and GFRP

For RC structures, long-term deformation occurs due to the inherent characteristics, which are creep and shrinkage. In terms of serviceability, it is important to limit deflection caused by the deformation to the allowable deflection. In the recent years, various repair and strengthening methods have been used to improve performance of the existing RC structures. One of the typical methods is FRP externally bonded method (EBR). Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been used worldwide as repair and strengthening materials due to its superior properties. Besides, it has to offer improved strengthening performance not only under instantaneous load but sustained load. Therefore, accurate prediction method of deflection for the RC members externally bonded with FRP under sustained load is required. In this paper, three beams were fabricated. Two beams were externally strengthened with one of CFRP plate and GFRP plate respectively. Total three beams were superimposed under sustained load of 25 kN. During 470 days, deflections at midspan were obtained. Moreover, creep coefficients and shrinkage strains were calculated by using ACI- 209 code and CEB-FIP code. In order to predict the deflection of the beams, EMM, AEMM, Branson's method and Mayer's method were used. Through the experiment, it was found that the specimen with CFRP plate has the most flexural capacity and Mayer's method is the most precise method to predict total long-term deflections.