Rehabilitation of notch damaged steel beam using a carbon fiber reinforced multiphase-matrix composite

The retrofit of notch damaged steel beams is investigated via the experimental testing of nine wide-flange steel beam specimens and finite element simulation. Three notch configurations representing various damage levels were identified, and the beam specimens were retrofitted using CFRP laminates and a recently developed polymeric matrix composite - CarbonFlex - that exhibits superior energy dissipation and ductility properties, where the peak-load deflections were between 49.4% and 65.2% higher using the CarbonFlex-retrofitted beams. The results are attributed to the substantially higher damage tolerance capability of CarbonFlex than conventional CFRP. Finite element models were developed to investigate the damage processes and strain/ stress distributions near the notch tips. The numerical results match closely with the experimentally determined load-deflection curves and the strain fields obtained by the digital imaging correlations (DIC) system. Both experimental and numerical results clearly indicate the effectiveness of CarbonFlex, as a candidate retrofitting material, to retrofit damaged steel structures. Lastly, the micro-mechanisms by which CarbonFlex could sufficiently sustain a significant amount of the peak strength at large displacement ductility values are discussed with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pictures.