Over the past decade, extensive research has been conducted on the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures using externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP). More recently, near-surface mounted (NSM) FRP reinforcement has attracted an increasing amount of research as well as practical applications. In the NSM method, grooves are first cut into the concrete cover of an RC element and the FRP reinforcement is bonded inside the groove with an appropriate filler (typically epoxy paste or cement grout). The FRP reinforcement is either prestressed or non-prestressed depending on the required level of strengthening. In all cases, the bond between an NSM bar and the substrate material plays a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of NSM strengthening. The present work investigated experimentally the bond behaviour of non-prestressed and prestressed beams reinforced with near surface mounted carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars under monotonic and fatigue loading. Forty concrete beams were cast and tested in seven groups. The test variables considered in this study were: presence of internal steel reinforcement or not, the type of CFRP rod (spirally wound or sand coated) and the prestressing force (non-prestressed or prestressed). Twenty eight beams were strengthened with non-prestressed CFRP rods; fifteen beams without internal steel reinforcement and thirteen beams with internal steel. Ten beams with internal steel were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods. The beams were tested in four point bending. In each group, one beam was loaded monotonically. The remaining beams were loaded under different fatigue load levels. The minimum load was kept constant for all beams at 10% of their monotonic capacity and the peak load was varied from one beam to another (denoted as a percentage of the peak load level). Twenty eight beams were strengthened with non-prestressed CFRP rods. Bond failures for the beams with and without internal steel, strengthened with CFRP rods and tested under monotonic or fatigue loads was by debonding between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the loading point and as the load was increased or cycled, the debonding spread towards the support until failure occurred. A comparison of the fatigue life curves for the beams with and without steel, strengthened with CFRP rods revealed that the sand coated rod had better bond characteristics than the spirally wound rod (at the same load range the beam strengthened with sand coated rod had a longer life than the beam strengthened with spirally wound rod). Beams with internal steel, strengthened with CFRP rods and tested under fatigue loading failed in bond at high load levels (short fatigue lives) and by rupture of the steel rebar at low load levels (long fatigue lives). Ten beams with internal steel were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods. The CFRP rods were prestressed to a force of 62 kN which corresponds to 45% and 40% of the monotonic capacity of the spirally wounded and sand coated rods, respectively. Almost all the beams with internal steel that were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods failed by slipping between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the support and propagated inwards towards the loading point. The exception to this was the beam strengthened with prestressed sand coated rod and tested under monotonic loading that failed by debonding between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the loading point and propagated towards the support. Comparing the load range (kN) versus life curve for the beams with steel, strengthened with prestressed spirally wound and sand coated rods that failed in bond, shows that the beam strengthened with sand coated rod has longer fatigue lives than beam strengthened with spirally wound rod. A model was used to describe the progress of the debonding crack until excessive slipping occurred. The model predicted the number of cycles until excessive slipping between the CFRP rod and the epoxy occurred and the forces in the CFRP rod at all locations in the shear span at the onset of failure with reasonable accuracy.

Over the past decade, extensive research has been conducted on the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures using externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP). More recently, near-surface mounted (NSM) FRP reinforcement has attracted an increasing amount of research as well as practical applications. In the NSM method, grooves are first cut into the concrete cover of an RC element and the FRP reinforcement is bonded inside the groove with an appropriate filler (typically epoxy paste or cement grout). The FRP reinforcement is either prestressed or non-prestressed depending on the required level of strengthening. In all cases, the bond between an NSM bar and the substrate material plays a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of NSM strengthening. The present work investigated experimentally the bond behaviour of non-prestressed and prestressed beams reinforced with near surface mounted carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars under monotonic and fatigue loading. Forty concrete beams were cast and tested in seven groups. The test variables considered in this study were: presence of internal steel reinforcement or not, the type of CFRP rod (spirally wound or sand coated) and the prestressing force (non-prestressed or prestressed). Twenty eight beams were strengthened with non-prestressed CFRP rods; fifteen beams without internal steel reinforcement and thirteen beams with internal steel. Ten beams with internal steel were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods. The beams were tested in four point bending. In each group, one beam was loaded monotonically. The remaining beams were loaded under different fatigue load levels. The minimum load was kept constant for all beams at 10% of their monotonic capacity and the peak load was varied from one beam to another (denoted as a percentage of the peak load level). Twenty eight beams were strengthened with non-prestressed CFRP rods. Bond failures for the beams with and without internal steel, strengthened with CFRP rods and tested under monotonic or fatigue loads was by debonding between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the loading point and as the load was increased or cycled, the debonding spread towards the support until failure occurred. A comparison of the fatigue life curves for the beams with and without steel, strengthened with CFRP rods revealed that the sand coated rod had better bond characteristics than the spirally wound rod (at the same load range the beam strengthened with sand coated rod had a longer life than the beam strengthened with spirally wound rod). Beams with internal steel, strengthened with CFRP rods and tested under fatigue loading failed in bond at high load levels (short fatigue lives) and by rupture of the steel rebar at low load levels (long fatigue lives). Ten beams with internal steel were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods. The CFRP rods were prestressed to a force of 62 kN which corresponds to 45% and 40% of the monotonic capacity of the spirally wounded and sand coated rods, respectively. Almost all the beams with internal steel that were strengthened with prestressed CFRP rods failed by slipping between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the support and propagated inwards towards the loading point. The exception to this was the beam strengthened with prestressed sand coated rod and tested under monotonic loading that failed by debonding between the CFRP rod and the epoxy that started at the loading point and propagated towards the support. Comparing the load range (kN) versus life curve for the beams with steel, strengthened with prestressed spirally wound and sand coated rods that failed in bond, shows that the beam strengthened with sand coated rod has longer fatigue lives than beam strengthened with spirally wound rod. A model was used to describe the progress of the debonding crack until excessive slipping occurred. The model predicted the number of cycles until excessive slipping between the CFRP rod and the epoxy occurred and the forces in the CFRP rod at all locations in the shear span at the onset of failure with reasonable accuracy.

Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’efficacité des renforcements par matériaux composites à base de fibres carbone (CFRP : Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) par la technique NSM (Near Surface Mounted ; réalisation d’engravures sur la surface du béton) pour requalifier les structures corrodées. Elle est composée d’une partie expérimentale et d’une partie modélisation par la méthode des Eléments Finis (EF). La technique NSM consiste à réaliser des engravures sur la surface du béton où sont insérés les joncs de carbone rendus adhérents par remplissage d’une résine époxy. Les éléments étudiés dans cette thèse sont des poutres en béton armé naturellement corrodées pendant 28 années d’exposition à un environnement salin. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons aux modes de rupture et à la capacité portante à la fois : en flexion et à l’effort tranchant. Le degré de corrosion a été mesuré par la méthode de perte de masses locales après la fin des essais mécaniques sur les barres longitudinales ainsi que sur les cadres d’effort tranchant. La première partie présente les résultats expérimentaux obtenus sur une poutre corrodée et une poutre témoin réparée ou renforcée en flexion par un jonc de carbone de 6 mm de diamètre inséré dans la surface tendue par la technique NSM. Les essais ont pour objectif d’étudier la capacité portante, la flèche à la ruine, la rigidité en flexion et le mode de ruine des deux poutres afin de vérifier l’efficacité du renforcement ou de la réparation... La seconde partie présente les résultats expérimentaux obtenus sur des poutres courtes permettant de mettre en avant la résistance vis à vis de l’effort tranchant. A partir des poutres longues testées dans la première partie, deux poutres courtes corrodées et deux poutres courtes témoins sont extraites. Une poutre courte corrodée et une poutre témoin sont réparées ou renforcées en flexion et une poutre corrodée et une poutre témoin sont en plus réparées ou renforcées vis-à-vis à l’effort tranchant par des joncs de carbone de 6 mm de diamètre par la technique NSM. L’éventuel glissement des armatures longitudinales sur les appuis a été mesuré durant les essais de flexion 3 points. Les résultats expérimentaux montrent que la corrosion des armatures longitudinales et la corrosion des cadres d’effort tranchant n’affectent pas le mode de ruine et modifient très peu les capacités portantes. La réparation vis-à-vis de l’effort tranchant avec la technique NSM change le mode de ruine de la formation d’une fissure diagonale due au glissement des barres d’acier tendues, à la formation d’une large fissure de flexion à mi-travée suivie de l’écrasement du béton comprimé... La troisième partie s’intéresse à la modélisation par la méthode de modélisation par EF du comportement global en flexion. Une première approche 2D est élaborée avec le code FEMIX développé à l’Université de Minho par le professeur Barros. Cinq poutres sont modélisées : 3 corrodées dont une réparée par la technique NSM et 2 témoins dont une renforcée par la technique NSM. La modélisation par EF donne de bons résultats sauf dans le cas de la poutre corrodée réparée dont le mode de ruine est non conventionnel (séparation du béton d’enrobage)... La quatrième et dernière partie est consacrée à l’étude numérique des poutres courtes. Quatre poutres sont modélisées : 2 corrodées réparées dont une réparée vis-à-vis de l’effort tranchant et 2 témoins renforcées dont une renforcée vis-à-vis de l’effort tranchant. La modélisation par EF est faite en 3D en utilisant le code FEMIX. Les résultats numériques reproduisent correctement les aspects importants du comportement force-flèche ainsi que les modes de fissuration à la ruine pour les poutres réparées vis-à-vis de l’effort tranchant ou non. / The thesis is composed of an experimental and Finite Element Modeling (FEM) study, investigating the effectiveness of the (Near Surface Mounted CFRP rods technique (NSM)) on the corroded RC beams. In the NSM technique, the CFRP rods are placed inside pre-cut grooves and are bonded to the concrete with epoxy adhesive. The thesis studies the failure modes and the mechanical performance of the corroded RC beams due to steel corrosion and finally, the prediction of the mechanical behaviour of the repaired corroded RC beams using nonlinear models based on FE numerical modelling. The corroded RC beams studied here in this study were exposed to natural corrosion for more than 28 years. The first part includes experimental results which were obtained on two beams: (one corroded and one control beams, both are 3 metres long) repaired or strengthened in bending with one 6-mm-diameter NSM CFRP rod. The beams were tested in a three-point bending test up to failure. Overall stiffness was studied. Ultimate capacity, ductility and failure modes were also reviewed. Finally some comparisons were made between repaired and non-repaired beams in order to assess the effectiveness of the NSM technique... The second part discusses the experimental results of two short corroded beams, which were tested under three-point bending until failure, along with two short control beams of the same characteristics (age, length and cross-section). One RC corroded deep beam was repaired in bending and the other one was repaired in both bending and shear with NSM CFRP rods. After the beams had been tested up to failure, the main steel bars and the stirrups were extracted from the beams and the loss of mass was measured and plotted for both the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement. The slip of tensile reinforcement at the end of the beams was also measured during the tests. The effect of corrosion and the effect of repairing with CFRP NSM rods in bending and shear on the behaviour of deep beams are discussed. Experimental results showed that both corroded and control deep beams repaired only in bending failed due to shear failure mode(diagonal tension failure), while corroded and control beams repaired in both bending and shear failed due to concrete crushing. The test results also showed that the corrosion of both longitudinal and transversal reinforcement hardly modified the mechanical response of deep beams... The third part shows experimental results and numerical modelling results of 2D finite element model using the FEMIX computer code were obtained on five, 3-metre-long beams: three corroded RC beams and two control beams. Two beams, one corroded and one control were repaired or strengthened in bending with NSM CFRP rod and were then tested in three-point bending up to failure. The FE numerical modelling results from FEMIX were compatible with the experimental ones except for the repaired corroded beam, for which a three-dimensional model using the commercial software ABAQUS was required... Finally, the last part presents 3D numerical modelling results in terms of load-deflection curves, and failure modes for 4 short corroded beams: two corroded beams and two control beams, half of the beams were let repaired or strengthened in bending only with NSM CFRP rods while the others were repaired or strengthened in both bending and shear with NSM technique. Results showed that the FE model was able to capture the main aspects of the experimental load-deflection curves of the RC beams, moreover it has presented the experimental failure modes and FE numerical modelling crack patterns and both gave similar results for both shear-repaired and non-shear repaired beams, three dimensional crack patterns were produced for shear-repaired beams in order to investigate the splitting cracks occurred at the middle of the beams and near the support.