The feasibility of epoxy bonding of CFRP sheets in restoring the
ultimate load-carrying capacity and stiffness of composite girders
was examined by testing three large-scale girders repaired with
pultruded carbon fiber sheets. In order to observe the effective-
ness of this technique, three different damage levels of 25, 50, and
100% loss of tension flange were considered and different thick-
nesses of CFRP laminates were used. The tension flanges of the
girders were cut with different total depths of 43, 86, and 171 mm
to simulate 25, 50, and 100% loss of tension flange, respectively.
These girders were then strengthened by epoxy bonding of one,
three, and five layers of CFRP sheets to the bottom surface of the
tension flange. Concrete slabs with two different compressive
strengths were used. The overall lengths of CFRP sheets were
identical and covered more than over 80% of the girder span. The
cut-off points for each layer were staggered to prevent premature
failure at termination points due to stress concentrations
~Schwartz 1992!.