ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Due to corrosion and the continuous demand to increase traffic loads, there is a need for an efficient, cost-effective system which can be used for the repair and strengthening of steel highway bridge girders. Research has been conducted to investigate the use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials to address this need and the effectiveness of the technique for repair and strengthening of steel and steel-concrete composite bridge girders has been demonstrated. However, the majority of the previous research has focused on the use of conventional modulus CFRP materials for the repair and strengthening of steel bridge members. While substantial strength increases have been achieved, typically large amounts of strengthening are required to achieve a comparable increase of the elastic stiffness. This is due to the relatively low modulus of elasticity of the CFRP as compared to steel and also possibly due to the presence of shear-lag effects between the steel beam and the CFRP materials.
