Failure of the bond between the CFRP laminate and steel
flange was the mode of failure in the girder with 100% loss of
tension flange, repaired with five layers of CFRP sheets. Failure
progressed quickly from the first sign of debonding at the cut in
the midspan ~72% of failure load! to the progressive sign of de-
bonding at the end of the sheets ~88% of failure load! and even-
tually complete failure, as shown in Fig. 16 ~a!. The bond between the sheet and the steel girder failed and the impact of sudden
failure forced delamination between the layers. The web of the
girder ruptured at the same time as the CFRP sheets debonded, as
shown in Fig. 16~b!. The compressive strain in the concrete was
0.16%, well below its capacity. There were no signs of longitudi-
nal cracking in the slab up to failure point. The shear planes in the
web and flange were very pronounced, as shown in Fig. 16~c!.