Fracture mechanics of plate debonding

Abstract

The study has shown that the phenomena of plate debonding can be studied by means of a fracture-mechanics approach, which obviates the need for a finite element analysis which would have dubious validity in the presence of infinite stress concentrations.It has been necessary to produce a modified form of Branson’s method to allow the calculation of the beam stiffness when the section is partially cracked and when subjected to an axial load imposed by the FRP plate.Hutchinson’s interface breakdown model has proved to be a very useful tool for the study of the debonding of FRP plates from concrete structures. More work remains to be done to study the importance of the various parameters that influence the result. Comparisons with experimental data in the literature are being undertaken