BOND AND FORCE TRANSFER OF COMPOSITE-MATERIAL PLATES BONDED TO CONCRETE

One possible method for strengthening deteriorated concrete structures is to externally bond composite material plates to the concrete. To i mplement such a rehabilitation, the nature of the bond between the com posite plate and the concrete must be understood A single-lap shear te st specimen was used to study the bond strength and force transfer of graphite/epoxy composite material plates adhered to concrete. Using a test specimen having a constant bond length, the influence of the surf ace preparation of the concrete, adhesive type, and concrete strength on the overall bond strength was studied. To determine the characteris tics of force transfer from the plate into the concrete, additional bo nd tests (with bond lengths varying from 2 to 8 in.) were conducted. B ased on the test results, recommendations for obtaining the highest st rength bond are made. In addition, conclusions regarding the rare of f orce transfer and the maximum effective bond length Sor the joint stud ied are presented.