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Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 14012

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Prof. Antolino Gallego

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Department of Applied Physics, Building Engineering School, Campus Fuentenueva, University of Granada, 18072 Granada, Spain
Interests: physics and mechanics of plastic deformation and fracture; advanced materials; composites; wood; acoustic emission; signal processing
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Dr. Francisco J. Rescalvo

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Building Engineering School, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: material characterization; structural analysis; mechanical properties; acoustic emission; wood science; acoustic analysis; wood anatomy; materials; carbon
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Dear Colleagues,

Currently, there is no doubt about the enormous irruption of fiber reinforced plastic composites (FRP) in the construction and civil engineering sectors. Events such as the recent meeting held in Chicago (Future of Composites in Construction, June 2017) highlighted this. FRP has proven to offer a complementary or even alternative approach to the repair and retrofitting of existent structures. Although more attention has been paid in the case of CFRP (carbon FRP), other kinds of fibers like basalt or glass have also been considered. Consideration should also be given to the use of composites reinforced with natural fibers. However, at present, the use of codes and standards for the calculation and design of repairing and retrofitting systems (type, quantity, and placement of composite and adhesives) are still incomplete, scarce, or nonexistent. This gap generates a certain reluctance in the professionals of architecture and civil engineering and in their clients. In general, the use of steel as a traditional system for the reinforcement of structures continues to be opted for. In order to generate confidence in its operation in situ, as well as to carry out a continuous follow-up that establishes the pertinent structural alerts, the in situ and real-time monitoring of structures is an efficient strategy, which can be of great usefulness in the case of FRP-retrofitted or repaired structures.

It is an enormous pleasure to invite you to contribute your research article, communication, or review for this Special Issue. Papers considering theoretical, lab experiences, and in situ studied cases are welcome. All types of FRP materials and structural materials (concrete, wood, etc.) are accepted. Especially interesting will be the papers proposing methodologies for using NDT (non-destructive testing) and SHM (structural health monitoring) for retrofitted or repaired structures.

Prof. Antolino Gallego
Dr. Francisco J. Rescalvo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Structures
Retrofitting
Repairing
Fiber-reinforced plastics
Non-destructive testing
Structural health monitoring

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dimension Effects on the Acoustic Behavior of TRC Plates

by Nicolas Ospitia, Dimitrios G. Aggelis and Eleni Tsangouri

Materials 2020, 13(4), 955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040955 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2246

Abstract

Acoustic emission (AE) is a monitoring technique that has proven its suitability in and outside of the laboratory in characterizing the structural condition of materials. In composites for construction and repair, several breakthroughs have been recently noted involving mainly fracture mode evaluation based on the AE waveform characteristics. However, the acquired signals, apart from the cracking source strongly depend on the size and shape of the plate specimens. While the effect of wave propagation distance has been studied, the effect of the lateral dimension of the plate has not been given proper attention, being a broken link in translating the results from small coupons to real size plates. This paper examines wave propagation from artificial sources as well as actual AE signals in textile-reinforced cement (TRC) plates indicating the strong differences in the results that are attributed just to the shape and size of the specimens and showing that interpretation toward the actual sources is firmly connected to geometric factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring)

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12 pages, 2578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Internal GFRP Reinforcement of Low-Grade Maritime Pine Duo Timber Beams

by Jose-Antonio Balmori, Luis-Alfonso Basterra and Luis Acuña

Materials 2020, 13(3), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030571 - 24 Jan 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2948

Abstract

This paper presented an experimental structural-scale test campaign used to analyze the flexural behavior of low-grade maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) duo timber beams reinforced with an internal glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheet. For this purpose, thirty (30) unreinforced duo beams and thirty (30) duo beams internally reinforced with a unidirectional GFRP sheet with an areal mass of 1200 g/m² were produced and tested. The addition of a low GFRP reinforcement ratio (1.07%) in the tension zone of the duo beams provided an average improvement of 8.37% in bending stiffness (EI) and an increase of up to 18.45% in ultimate moment capacity. In addition to this improved bending behavior, the internal GFRP reinforcements seemed to decrease the influence of wood singularities and wood heterogeneity on mechanical properties, which allowed for better characteristic values to be reached and for the achievement of results with less variability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring)

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12 pages, 5453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Acoustic Emission and Numerical Analysis of Pine Beams Retrofitted with FRP and Poplar Wood

by Francisco J. Rescalvo, María Rodríguez, Rafael Bravo, Chihab Abarkane and Antolino Gallego

Materials 2020, 13(2), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13020435 - 16 Jan 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2000

Abstract

Acoustic emission (AE) released by pine beams retrofitted with fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and poplar planks in bending is analyzed. Basalt fabric (FB), carbon fabric (FC), and carbon pultruded laminate (LC) have been used as FRP. Experimental results and AE behavior are discussed based on an elastoplastic finite-element numerical model. The model demonstrates a strong strain concentration at the end of poplar planks, which causes high AE activity in these areas and acts as a precursor of the delamination of the poplar plank. Based on the experimental results, some AE criteria for predicting the onset of the delamination are tentatively proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring)

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10 pages, 2312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pine Beams Retrofitted with FRP and Poplar Planks: Mechanical Behavior

by Francisco J. Rescalvo, Chihab Abarkane, Elisabet Suárez, Ignacio Valverde-Palacios and Antolino Gallego

Materials 2019, 12(19), 3081; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193081 - 21 Sep 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2317

Abstract

The paper presents an experimental analysis of the bending behavior of pine beams (Pinus Sylvester) retrofitted with fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and poplar planks used as external covering. Poplar wood was chosen because of its rapid growth in planted forests, its homogeneity and attributes for sustainable local development, and high CO₂ absorption rate. Vibration tests were also conducted in order to evaluate the stiffness in a non-destructive way and compare it with that obtained by means of the destructive tests. Three types of reinforcement were compared, namely: basalt fabric (FB), carbon fabric (FC) and carbon laminate (LC). In addition, some pine beams were reinforced only with poplar planks and used as control specimens in order to evaluate the improvement provided by the FRP. It was observed that a strong delamination preceded the final breakage of beam. Moreover, the results indicated that stiffness is provided mainly by the poplar plank and not by the FRP, as was expected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring)

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14 pages, 5505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biomechanical Behaviour and Biocompatibility of Ureidopyrimidinone-Polycarbonate Electrospun and Polypropylene Meshes in a Hernia Repair in Rabbits

by Marina Gabriela M. C. Mori da Cunha, Lucie Hympanova, Rita Rynkevic, Tristan Mes, Anton W. Bosman and Jan Deprest

Materials 2019, 12(7), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12071174 - 10 Apr 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3951

Abstract

Although mesh use has significantly improved the outcomes of hernia and pelvic organ prolapse repair, long-term recurrence rates remain unacceptably high. We aim to determine the in vivo degradation and functional outcome of reconstructed abdominal wall defects, using slowly degradable electrospun ureidopyrimidinone moieties incorporated into a polycarbonate backbone (UPy-PC) implant compared to an ultra-lightweight polypropylene (PP) textile mesh with high pore stability. Twenty four New-Zealand rabbits were implanted with UPy-PC or PP to either reinforce a primary fascial defect repair or to cover (referred to as gap bridging) a full-thickness abdominal wall defect. Explants were harvested at 30, 90 and 180 days. The primary outcome measure was uniaxial tensiometry. Secondary outcomes were the recurrence of herniation, morphometry for musculofascial tissue characteristics, inflammatory response and neovascularization. PP explants compromised physiological abdominal wall compliance from 90 days onwards and UPy-PC from 180 days. UPy-PC meshes induced a more vigorous inflammatory response than PP at all time points. We observed progressively more signs of muscle atrophy and intramuscular fatty infiltration in the entire explant area for both mesh types. UPy-PC implants are replaced by a connective tissue stiff enough to prevent abdominal wall herniation in two-thirds of the gap-bridged full-thickness abdominal wall defects. However, in one-third there was sub-clinical herniation. The novel electrospun material did slightly better than the textile PP yet outcomes were still suboptimal. Further research should investigate what drives muscular atrophy, and whether novel polymers would eventually generate a physiological neotissue and can prevent failure and/or avoid collateral damage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repair/Retrofitting of Structures with Fiber Composites and Health Monitoring)

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