Evaluation and Standardization of Mechanical Test Methods for Continuous Fiber Sheet in Japan

Discussion on the evaluation and standardization of test methods to obtain the material properties of continuous fiber sheets, which is applied to the repair and strengthening of concrete structures, have been conducted from 1998 in a working party of a research committee in the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. Among the mechanical and durability test methods to be standardized, the current discussions on the tension and bond test methods are introduced in this paper. As for the tension test, a new method to make the specimen to cope with large-tow or thick-yarn continuous fiber sheet is proposed and is to be adopted as one of the standard speciments. The variation of strengths depending on the different test specimens is discussed based on test results and a numerical analysis. As for the bond test, many elaborate test methods have been proposed but the simplicity is regarded very important for design application. Then a simple test method is proposed as the standard method and a simplified evaluation method on bond strength is introduced.