Field Retrofit of Prestressed Concrete T-Beam Using CFRP

Abstract

The paper reviews the repairs performed in 1997 on a prestressed T-beam in a shopping center parking garage in Honolulu, Hawaii. The beam was repaired using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) pre-cured strips bonded to the beam soffit to augment the flexural capacity. This was the first use of FRP materials for structural retrofit in Hawaii. After the parking garage was demolished in 2000, the repaired beam and two control beams were recovered and tested in flexure in the University of Hawaii Structural Engineering Laboratory. The test results indicated that the CFRP retrofit significantly increased the flexural capacity of the beam while also increasing its flexural ductility.