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Optimizing natural fiber reinforced polymer strengthening of RC beams

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Abstract

The performance of natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) in the flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams is evaluated and optimized in this paper. The optimization comprehensively considers the structural performance, cost efficiency and environmental impacts. Main design parameters – such as the fabrication, the bond condition and the section shape of NFRP laminates – are investigated. The test results revealed that the partial bonded NFRP laminates tended to increase the flexural stiffness within the elastic range. Given the same reinforcement ratio, narrow and thick NFRP yielded the best structural performance. The prefabrication of NFRP laminates using vacuum infusion method greatly decreased the volume fraction of epoxy resin and the related environmental impacts without changing structural performance. The assessment of material cost and environmental impacts indicated that the prefabrication NFRP laminates had obvious advantages over the carbon FRP laminates.

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Funding

The work in this study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 51808344 and 52078297, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering (Grant No. 2020B1212060074), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province under Grant No. 2018A030310535. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Traffic and Environment, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Xue Li

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Zhuo Gao, Yingwu Zhou, Lili Sui & Cheng Chen

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  1. Xue Li
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  2. Zhuo Gao
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  3. Yingwu Zhou
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  4. Lili Sui
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  5. Cheng Chen
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Correspondence to Cheng Chen.

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Li, X., Gao, Z., Zhou, Y. et al. Optimizing natural fiber reinforced polymer strengthening of RC beams. Mater Struct 54, 66 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01663-4

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