Moisture Affected Debonding in FRP Retrofitted Systems - An Interface Fracture Approach

The objective of this research is to develop an in-depth mechanistic understanding of moisture affected debonding in FRP retrofitted concrete using an interface fracture approach, which rigorously and precisely quantifies the debonding problem by means of interface fracture toughness, Γ, representation of the bonded system. While the strength approach is capable of quantifying and analyzing material decohesion type of debonding, it intrinsically lacks the ability to describe adhesion related phenomenon. Interface fracture toughness is, on the other hand, considered a bond property of the multi-layer material system, and is a quantification parameter central to this proposed research. The interface fracture approach is particularly robust due to the fact that the bond property is assessed on bond lines of the real scale that can easily be replicated in laboratory settings and does not involve size effects.