STUDY ON FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF CRACKED TENSILE STEEL PLATES REINFORCED WITH CFRP PLATES

The fatigue life prediction method for the steel plates reinforced with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates was proposed based on the Paris law. The stress intensity factor was calculated with the finite element model presented in the paper. Four steel plates with 10mm long center fatigue crack were tested under the cyclic tensile loads. Several influencing factors on the fatigue behavior of steel members, including the amount of strengthening CFRP plates, the single or double bond mode and the stress range, were investigated. The results indicate that the fatigue life of steel plates reinforced with CFRP plates obviously increased as compared to un-reinforced steel members. The fatigue crack propagation characteristics obtained from experimental results and predictions are in good agreement.