Recent contributions from UMinho and Empa on durability issues of flexural strengthening of RC slab with EB CFRP laminates

Abstract

Common research activities in the field of durability of prestressed externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) for reinforced concrete (RC) structures were carried out at both the University of Minho (UMinho) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). The research includes the study of the durability of (i) the constituent materials (concrete, epoxy and CFRP laminate) and (ii) large-scale RC slabs strengthened with prestressed CFRP laminates with two different anchorage systems (mechanical anchorage and the gradient anchorage), when subjected to different environmental conditions. The main achievements for a better understanding of the durability of RC elements strengthened with prestressed EBR-FRPs are presented in this paper. Finally, the effect of polymer sealings and asphalt application at high temperatures on CFRP/epoxy/concrete connections is also briefly discussed.