Baiyasi, I. M., and Harichandran, R. S. (2001). "Corrosion and wrap strains in concrete bridge columns repaired with FRP wraps." Proceedings, 80th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., Paper No. 01-2609, 11 pp.

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to assess the effects of using glass and carbon FRP wraps, with fibers oriented in the hoop direction, for rehabilitating corrosion-damaged bridge columns. The effect of wrapping on the rate of corrosion was investigated through an accelerated corrosion test. The wraps were used in two configuration: (1) with the FRP bonded to the concrete; and (2) with the FRP unbonded to the concrete. The results of the accelerated corrosion experiment indicate that wrapping reduced the corrosion depth in the reinforcing bars by 46% to 59% after 190 days of testing. Both glass and carbon wraps are equally effective in slowing down corrosion. Although unbonded wraps reduce stress concentrations in the FRP, they are less effective in reducing the corrosion rate than bonded wraps. It is postulated that this is due to the ingress of water along the unbonded FRP-concrete interface. Wrap strains for bonded specimens with both types of wraps tend to level off with time indicating that corrosion slows down significantly after some time. One explanation could be that the stress concentration near corroding bars in the bonded wraps is more effective in containing the corrosion-induced crack and reducing the corrosion rate. The slip of unbonded wraps and the resulting redistribution of strain along the entire wrap may be less effective at containing the large corrosion-induced crack near the bars.