Research
on the use of CFRP materials for retrofit and strengthening of steel bridges
and structures has increased
in recent years. In order to implement these types
of strengthening systems to longer span members, it is important to establish
an effective method to splice adjacent lengths of CFRP
laminates. This paper
describes an experimental program to investigate the bond behavior of carbon
fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates with the objective of developing an
effective bonded splice joint. The experimental program was conducted in two
phases. In the first phase, the effectiveness of three different CFRP splice
joint configurations was evaluated using double lap shear coupon tests. In the
second phase, steel beams were strengthened with CFRP laminates which incorporated
a bonded splice joint located at the midspan of each of the beams. The test
results demonstrate that debonding of the CFRP splice plate was the primary
mode of failure for the tested joints. The research also indicated that the use
of a reverse tapered joint configuration can significantly increase the splice
joint
capacity. The findings indicate that careful detailing can significantly
increase the capacity of bonded CFRP splice joints.