Improving performance of CFRP retrofitted RC members using rubber modified epoxy (ongoing research)

Although the method of external attachment of CFRP to the concrete members is the most effective and economical solution for strengthening and repairing concrete structure in the century, the bonding issue between CFRP and the hosting surface still a challenge for the structural engineers. Many solutions are proposed to overcome the early debonding failure in the strengthened members. This paper reports an ongoing experimental program for testing CFRP retrofitted RC beams and slabs. Fifteen RC beams of dimensions 150x250x2300mm and twelve two- way RC slabs of size 85x1670x1670mm will be strengthened using different types of epoxies, different configurations and variable number of layers of CFRP strips (MBrace-230). Rubber modified epoxy will be used for carbon fibre external attachment using wet lay-up method. Loading frame of 500 kN capacity will be used for beams testing. While for applying uniformly distributed load on the slabs a purpose built attachment will be used. The experimental results will report on the ultimate load, failure mode, mid-span deflection, strains readings in different locations and the ductility for both groups of strengthened beams and slabs. A mathematical model will be developed to predict the behavior of RC beams and two-way slabs

Experimental investigation on CFRP-steel bond properties using ionic liquid

Solving the problem of pre mature debonding of CFRP retrofitted structure is a main concern for most of structural engineers nowadays. Reducing the brittleness of the bonding agent at the CFRP/concrete interface is a major factor to avoid this behaviour. In this research, the effect of modifying the bonding agent using different percentages of ionic liquid (IL) is investigated. This paper reports on an experimental investigation on the behaviour of modified epoxy resin with IL. Steel plates were used as hosting surface of the CFRP laminates, the laminates were attached to the steel surface using the IL modified epoxy. The shear mechanism at the interface of CFRP laminates to steel plates is discussed considering the relationship between the shear and the slip at the interface. The shear stress- displacement are traced for all specimens, the results are compared with control test prepared using unmodified epoxy. A 20% IL modified epoxy shows improved Behaviour. The improvement is with respect to ductility enhancement of the overall behaviour

Persistent Place-Making in Prehistory: the Creation, Maintenance, and Transformation of an Epipalaeolithic Landscape

Most archaeological projects today integrate, at least to some degree, how past people engaged with their surroundings, including both how they strategized resource use, organized technological production, or scheduled movements within a physical environment, as well as how they constructed cosmologies around or created symbolic connections to places in the landscape. However, there are a multitude of ways in which archaeologists approach the creation, maintenance, and transformation of human-landscape interrelationships. This paper explores some of these approaches for reconstructing the Epipalaeolithic (ca. 23,000–11,500 years BP) landscape of Southwest Asia, using macro- and microscale geoarchaeological approaches to examine how everyday practices leave traces of human-landscape interactions in northern and eastern Jordan. The case studies presented here demonstrate that these Epipalaeolithic groups engaged in complex and far-reaching social landscapes. Examination of the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic (EP) highlights that the notion of “Neolithization” is somewhat misleading as many of the features we use to define this transition were already well-established patterns of behavior by the Neolithic. Instead, these features and practices were enacted within a hunter-gatherer world and worldview

Experimental investigation on CFRP-steel bond properties using ionic liquid

Solving the problem of pre mature debonding of CFRP retrofitted structure is a main concern for most of structural engineers nowadays. Reducing the brittleness of the bonding agent at the CFRP/concrete interface is a major factor to avoid this behaviour. In this research, the effect of modifying the bonding agent using different percentages of ionic liquid (IL) is investigated. This paper reports on an experimental investigation on the behaviour of modified epoxy resin with IL. Steel plates were used as hosting surface of the CFRP laminates, the laminates were attached to the steel surface using the IL modified epoxy. The shear mechanism at the interface of CFRP laminates to steel plates is discussed considering the relationship between the shear and the slip at the interface. The shear stress-displacement are traced for all specimens, the results are compared with control test prepared using unmodified epoxy. A 20% IL modified epoxy shows improved Behaviour. The improvement is with respect to ductility enhancement of the overall behaviour