SHEAR REINFORCEMENT OF WOOD USING FRP MATERIALS

A study of the mechanical behavior of wood members either reinforced o r strengthened with fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials in the fo rm of sheets (laminates or fabrics) externally bonded to the shear-cri tical zones is presented in this paper. The analysis is described firs t for the (shea-term) behavior of shear-reinforced wood members, follo wed by parametric studies to assess the effect of the type and amount of FRP reinforcement on the response of wood-FRP members. It is shown that the effectiveness of FRP reinforcement can be quite high, and tha t it is maximized when the fibers are placed in the longitudinal direc tion and the height of externally bonded sheers is just a little highe r than a limiting value, beyond which FRP failure precedes wood failur e. In the experimental part of the study, 21 wood beams designed to fa il in shear are reinforced with carbon-FRP fabrics at various configur ations and area fractions and tested to failure. The agreement between experiments and analysis, in terms of shear capacity, was found to be quite satisfactory.