499

Flexural strengthening of precast reinforced

concrete bridge girders using bonded carbon fibre
reinforced polymer strips or external post-
tensioning
Ezzeldin Y. Sayed-Ahmed, Amr H. Riad, and Nigel G. Shrive

Abstract: Strengthening of reinforced concrete bridge girders has become a major concern. Many reinforced concrete
highway bridges were constructed in Canada using precast reinforced concrete girders, and currently many of them
need rehabilitation. Thus, two techniques for flexural strengthening of precast reinforced concrete bridge girders (HC-
type) were investigated experimentally. The first technique involved bonding carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP)
strips to the soffits of the girders. The second technique was classical external post-tensioning with steel bars. A sim-
ple, yet innovative method was developed for applying the external prestressing to these girders. The experimental in-
vestigation was performed on full-scale girders from a dismantled bridge in Alberta (Canada). Outcomes of the
experimental investigation led to the conclusion that classical methods of flexural strengthening (e.g., external
prestressing) should not be completely disregarded. Also, an additional mode of failure needs to be added to currently
available prediction models for estimating the gain in flexural strength of reinforced concrete girders retrofitted using
bonded CFRP strips.
Key words: bridges, CFRP, flexure strengthening, precast girders, post tension, prestressing, rehabilitation.

Résumé : Le renforcement des poutres de pont en béton armé est devenu une grande préoccupation. Au Canada, plu-
sieurs ponts autoroutiers en béton armé ont été construits en utilisant des poutres en béton armé précontraint; présente-
ment, plusieurs de ces ponts doivent être remis en état. Ainsi, deux techniques de renforcement en flexion des poutres
de pont en béton armé précontraint (de HC-type) ont été étudiées expérimentalement. La première technique impliquait
la fixation de bandelettes de polymère renforcé par fibres de carbone (CFRP) aux soffites des poutres. La deuxième
technique était la post-tension externe classique au moyen de barres d’acier. Une méthode simple mais innovatrice a été
développée pour appliquer la précontrainte externe à ces poutres. Une vérification expérimentale a été effectuée sur des
poutres à pleine échelle provenant d’un pont démantelé d’Alberta, Canada. Les résultats de l’étude expérimentale ont
indiqué que les méthodes classiques de renforcement en flexion (p. ex. précontrainte externe) ne devrait pas être com-
plètement éliminées. De plus, un nouveau mode de défaillance doit être ajouté aux modèles de prédiction actuellement
disponibles afin d’estimer le gain de résistance en flexion des poutres de béton armé sur lesquelles des bandelettes de
CFRP ont été fixées.

Mots clés : ponts, CFRP, renforcement en flexion, poutres en béton précontraint, post-tension, précontrainte, remise en
état.
[Traduit par la Rédaction] Sayed-Ahmed et al. 512

Received 7 July 2003. Revision accepted 18 January 2004.
Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at
http://cjce.nrc.ca on 2 June 2004.
E.Y. Sayed-Ahmed.1,2 Structural Engineering Department,
Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
A.H. Riad. Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of
Engineering, Al-Azhar, Cairo, Egypt.
N.G. Shrive. Kilam Memorial Chair, Department of Civil
Engineering, The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
T2N 1N4, Canada.
Written discussion of this article is welcomed and will be
received by the Editor until 31 October 2004.
1
Corresponding author (e-mail: eysahmed@qu.edu.qa).
2
Present address: Civil Engineering Department, University of
Qatar, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Introduction
Rehabilitation of reinforced concrete bridges has recently
become a very important issue (Klaiber et al. 1987; Munley
1994). More than 1500 reinforced concrete bridges were
constructed in Alberta (Canada) using type HC, G, or E pre-
cast reinforced concrete girders during the mid-part of the
20th century. The girders have an inverted U cross section
and are placed beside each other to form the base of the
bridge deck. The bridge girders are simply supported and
have short spans ranging between 8 and 12 m. Over the
years, these girders have developed major problems. The
concrete cover initially provided to these precast girders was
too small in comparison to the amount of steel reinforce-
ment. The cover was also too small to resist the weather
conditions effectively. As a result, cracks appeared around
the reinforcement, exposing most of the steel in the mid-

Can. J. Civ. Eng. 31: 499–512 (2004) doi: 10.1139/L04-005 © 2004 NRC Canada
500
Fig. 1. An HC-type precast bridge girder: (a) cross section and (b) section elevation.
spans of the girders, with rust developing in the steel bars.
Thus, most bridges constructed using HC-type or similar
precast girders currently need rehabilitation and (or)
strengthening.
Recently, bonding fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strips
to a reinforced concrete girder to increase its flexural
strength has become a very popular method of retrofitting.
The technique was developed in the 1980s at the Swiss Fed-
eral Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Meier
et al. 1993). The main advantages of FRP strips are their
high strength-to-weight ratio, which leads to great ease in
site handling and application procedures and their high cor-
rosion resistance compared with that of steel plates (Teng et
al. 2002). Detailed surveys of field of applications of FRPs
are outlined by many researchers (e.g., ACI 1996; El-Badry
1996; Shaw and Drewett 1999; Hamilton and Dolan 2000).
General views of the application of FRPs in the rehabilita-
tion of structures are presented by Nanni (1995), Neale and
Labossière (1997), Neale (2000), and Teng et al. (2002).
Flexural strengthening of beams using FRP strips has also
been the focus of many research projects (e.g., Saadat-
manesh and Ehsani 1991; McKenna and Erki 1994; Nanni
1997; Chaallal et al. 1998; Grace et al. 1999; Rahimi and
Hutchinson 2001; Breña et al. 2003).
The main objective of the work described in this paper
was to improve the flexure strength of the HC-type precast
reinforced concrete bridge girders, with a methodology that
could easily be applied in situ. Two rehabilitation techniques
to increase the flexural strength of these bridge girders were
investigated experimentally. The first technique investigated
bonding carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips to
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
the soffit of the girder, while the second technique was ex-
ternal post-tensioning with steel prestressing bars. For this
purpose, HC-type precast girders dismantled from a deterio-
rated bridge near Calgary (Canada) were tested in flexure to
failure. The initial state of the girders was examined visually
and by testing two girders to determine their flexural capac-
ity. Another two tests were performed to determine the shear
capacity of the girders. Flexural (and shear) strengthening
using CFRP strips (and sheets) was then attempted on two
girders and the rehabilitated girders were tested to failure.
Two more girders were externally post-tensioned and tested
to failure. The layout of the post-tensioning steel bars and
the details of the end anchorages were designed to be suit-
able for field application. Test results are described and
compared with the theoretical predictions of the flexural ca-
pacities.
Initial state of the bridge girders
The HC-type girders considered in the current experimen-
tal investigation have a total length of 11.6 m. The inverted
U-shaped cross section of these girders is shown in Fig. 1.
The initial state of the girders, as they existed on site, was
assessed visually with emphasis on the width and depth of
the cracks, the state of the end diaphragms and the deck, the
amount and extent of spalling of the concrete cover, and the
concrete and steel reinforcement properties (Fig. 2). The dia-
phragms were found to be badly damaged. There was ex-
posed steel in most of the webs, where the depth of exposure
varied between 20 and almost 150 mm. Spalling of the cover
was mainly localized to the mid-span zone of the girder.
© 2004 NRC Canada
Sayed-Ahmed et al.
Fig. 2. Initial condition of the bridge girders to be rehabilitated:
(a) at mid-span and (b) near the end diaphragm.
There was obvious rust on the flexural steel reinforcement.
Some bond cracks were visible along the edges of the gird-
ers. No obvious shear cracks were found but some of the
stirrups near the girders mid-span were badly rusted, one
completely through its cross section. Most of the shear keys
were also rusted.
Nondestructive tests were performed with a Schmidt ham-
mer to estimate the strength of the concrete that ranged be-
tween 35 and 45 MPa. Cores were also extracted from some
girders after testing and revealed that the strength of the con-
crete ranged between 45 and 50 MPa. Steel bars were cut
from some of the girders and monotonically tested to failure
in direct tension. The tests showed a steel yield strength of
350 MPa.
The flexural resistance (nominal moment Mn) of the girder
was calculated on the basis of equilibrium of forces and
compatibility of strains (CSA A23.3-94 R2000 (CSA 2000))
using fc′ = 45 MPa and Fy = 350 MPa. Referring to Fig. 3,
the nominal moment Mn of the girder is given by
 β c β c  Results of the first phase of the experimental program are
[1] M n = As Fs ds − 1  + As1 Fs1 1 − ds1 
 2   2  cross section of the girder is determined (considering the
 β c
+ As2 Fs2 ds2 − 1 
 2 
where Fs1, Fs2, and Fs are the stresses in the steel reinforce-
ment that have areas of As1, As2, and As, respectively, and lo-
501
cated at depths of ds1, ds2, and ds measured from the top con-
crete fibres; β1 is the ratio of the equivalent compressive
stress block depth to the depth of the reinforced concrete
girder section to the neutral axis; and c is distance from con-
crete top fibres to the neutral axis of the section (Fig. 3).
Equation [1] results in a nominal flexural capacity for the
girder of 987 kN·m.
Two girders were tested to determine their ultimate mo-
ment and to verify the theoretically predicted value
(987 kN·m). The test setup is shown in Fig. 4. It consisted of
a universal loading frame, a loading system (a hydraulic ram
with its load cell and plates, load distribution steel beams,
and connectors and spacers), measuring devices, and sup-
porting pedestals. The loading frame was centred at the mid-
span of the girder, with the load applied to each web of the
girder at two points 600 mm from the centreline of the
girder in each direction. The simply supported girders were
thus loaded at four points (two on each web) 1200 mm apart
simulating the distance between the wheels of the truck. The
loading system resulted in a zone of constant moment over
the mid-span. It was therefore possible to measure strains
and deflections in more than one spot in the critical moment
zone. All tests were stroke controlled to avoid catastrophic
failure of the girders. Linear variable displacement transduc-
ers (LVDTs) were used to obtain the horizontal and vertical
displacements at the mid-span of the girder. Strain gauges
were mounted on the exposed steel bars and on the concrete
top fibres at the mid-span of the girder. Load cells were
aligned under the loading ram to measure the applied load
and under the webs of the girder to measure the reactions.
The two girders chosen for initial testing were the girder
thought to be in the “best” condition (minimum rust in steel
reinforcement, fair web conditions, and no broken stirrups)
and the girder thought to be in the “worst” condition. These
two were selected to determine the range of flexural capacity
of the HC-type girders.
The first flexural test was performed on the girder consid-
ered to be in the best condition (G1). Failure occurred at a
total applied load of 360 kN — the tension steel yielded and
some of the concrete in the compression zone started to
crush. The second test was performed on the girder deemed
to be in the worst condition (G2). Failure of this girder oc-
curred at 352 kN in a mode similar to that of the first girder.
There was no significant difference in the behaviour and ul-
timate moment of the two tested girders. Samples of the dis-
placement and the steel strain measurements recorded during
the tests are plotted in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. The dis-
placements were recorded using LVDTs mounted on the
girder at its mid-span, in the constant moment zone while
the steel stains were recorded using steel stain gauges
mounted on the exposed steel reinforcement bars at the same
location. The reinforcement steel yielded at about 330 kN
with rapidly increasing deflection thereafter to final failure.
summarized in Table 1. The ultimate moment Mult of the
self weight of the girder) to be 899 kN·m, which is about
10% less than the theoretically predicted nominal moment.
Other girders were tested in shear in their initial condi-
tion. The results showed that the shear capacity of the gird-
ers exceeds their flexural capacity — the flexural strength of
© 2004 NRC Canada
502
Fig. 3. Stress and strain distributions at ultimate load along the cross section of the HC-type precast RC girders (forces in As1 and As2
are not shown).
Fig. 4. Schematic presentation of the test setup: (a) elevation and
(b) cross section.
the girders is about 60% of their shear strength (Riad 1998).
Thus, the need to increase the flexural capacity of these
girders was more critical than the need to increase their
shear capacity.
Bonding CFRP strips to the soffits of the girders after
patching them was the first potential rehabilitation technique
considered. Another possibility examined was external post-
tensioning using Dywidag bars. Both techniques were inves-
tigated experimentally. The governing factors in preferring
one to the other would be the total cost and effectiveness of
each technique.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
Fig. 5. Load–displacement curves for control girders G1 and G2
(in their initial condition).
Fig. 6. Strain measured in the steel reinforcement at the constant
moment zone for girder G2.
Flexural strengthening of HC-type girders
using carbon fibre reinforced polymer strips
Two girders were patched and strengthened with CFRP
strips and sheets. They were subjected to a series of flexure
and shear tests. Results of the monotonic tests to failure in
flexure are reported here.
Sika CarboDur® S1012 CFRP strips produced by Sika and
Replark® CFRP sheets produced by Mitsubishi Chemical
© 2004 NRC Canada
Sayed-Ahmed et al. 503

Table 1. Results of the experimental program and the theoretical investigation.

Experimental program Theoretical investigation
Experimental Max. vertical Ultimate Average ultimate % of increase in Theoretical Increase in the
failure load deflection at moment moment the experimental nominal moment nominal moment
Girders (kN) failure (mm) Mult (kN·m) Mult (kN·m) moment Mult Mn (kN·m) Mn (%)
Control girders (initial state)
G1 360 94.6 908
899 ± 12.7 — 987 19%
G2 352 94.3 890
Girders retrofitted with CFRP
G3 401 181 1004
998 ± 8.5 11% 1236 25%
G4 396 185 992
Post-tensioned girders
G5 437 76 1087
G6 424 75 1057 1072 ± 21.2 19% 1202 21%

Corporation were used to strengthen the girders. The CFRP Table 2. Some mechanical properties of the CFRP strips (Sika
strips were 1.2 mm thick and 100 mm wide, while the CFRP CarboDur®) and the CFRP sheets (Mitsubishi Replark®) used in
sheets were 0.12 mm thick and 250 mm wide. The most rel- strengthening the HC-type bridge girders.
evant mechanical properties of the CFRP strips and the
Sika Mitsubishi
CFRP sheets are outlined in Table 2 (as provided by the
CarboDur® Replark®
manufacturers).
Mechanical property CFRP strips CFRP sheets
The girders were patched over the zones that have the ex-
Modulus of elasticity (GPa)* 165 230
posed and corroded steel. Where the concrete cover was
Tensile strength (MPa)* 3050 3400
spalling, the slack cover was broken off to provide access to
Maximum elongation (%)* 1.7 1.55
as many corroded reinforcing bars as possible. The exposed
Density (g/cm3) 1.6 1.8
bars were sandblasted clean. Two steel strain gauges were
mounted on the reinforcement in each web, 250 mm on each Thickness (mm) 1.2 0.12
side of the centerline of the girder (Fig. 7). One of the two Width (mm) 100 250
girders to be rehabilitated was patched using Sika® 224 grout Length of one roll (m) 250 25
mix that has high strength, short hardening time, and low li- *Property defined in the fibres (longitudinal) direction.
quidity. The second girder was patched using wet shotcrete
and subsequently sandblasted to obtain the required smooth Mitsubishi Replark® 20 CFRP sheets were used as an end
surface. anchor for the CFRP strips. At their location on the web, the
concrete was sandblasted to smooth the surface. Subse-
Carbon fibre reinforced polymer strips were applied to the quently, the surface was cleaned to remove the loose sand.
soffit of each web of the girders. SikaDur® 30 epoxy adhe- Then, a primer was mixed and applied to the areas to be cov-
sive was used to bond the CFRP strips to the girders. Before ered with the sheets and left for few hours to soak into the
the CFRP strip was applied to the girder, a thin layer (1 mm) concrete surface. An epoxy resin was then used to fill any
of SikaDur® 30 epoxy was gradually applied to the soffit of holes remaining in the concrete surface. The resin was ap-
the web using a trowel. Another layer (3 mm) of the epoxy plied as a final coat and the CFRP sheets were applied di-
adhesive was applied over the CFRP strips as well. The strip rectly onto it. The sheets were applied over a length of 1.5 m
was then placed on the soffit of the first web; contact was at each end of the beam, with the principal fibre direction at
established at mid-span with the application moving to both an angle of 45°. Figures 8 and 9 show the CFRP-
outer ends simultaneously. Uniform pressure was applied to rehabilitated girders. The CFRP strips were intended to act
the strip using a roller to squeeze out the excess epoxy adhe- as an external reinforcement to increase the flexural capacity
sive, leaving a thin layer between the concrete and the CFRP of the girders. The main goal of the wrapped CFRP sheets
strip. was to provide an appropriate end anchor for the CFRP
Strain gauges were placed on the CFRP strips at locations strips and to strengthen the girders in shear.
corresponding to the steel strain gauges. Concrete strain The flexural resistance (nominal moment Mn) of the cross
gauges were mounted on the concrete at the same distance section of the girder strengthened with bonded CFRP strips
from the centerline (Fig. 7). A system of LVDTs was also was calculated based on equilibrium of forces and compati-
mounted horizontally on the concrete as shown in Fig. 7 to bility of strains as per CSA S806-02 (CSA 2002). Referring
determine the strain in the concrete layer between the steel to Fig. 10, the nominal moment Mn may be calculated using
reinforcement and the CFRP strips. Thus, a full strain profile
could be drawn for the constant moment zone at each ap-  β c  β c
[2] M n = Af Ff  t − 1  + As Fs ds − 1 
plied load level. Other LVDTs (100 mm long) were mounted  2   2 
vertically under the web to measure the vertical deflection.
β c   β c
These LVDTs were mounted within the constant moment + As1 Fs1 1 − ds1  + As2 Fs2 ds2 − 1 
zone as close as possible to the centreline of the girder.  2   2 

© 2004 NRC Canada

504
Fig. 7. (a) Arrangement of strain gauges on concrete, steel rein-
forcement, and CFRP strips; and configuration of the LVDTs;
and (b) vertical and horizontal LVDTs recording vertical dis-
placement and concrete strains (over 200 mm length) below the
reinforcement level, respectively.
where Ff is the stress in the bonded CFRP strips having an
area of Af. Based on the compatibility of strains (Fig. 10),
the strain and the stress in the CFRP strips were determined
to be 1.38% and 2283 MPa, respectively. The maxim elonga-
tion and tensile strength of the Sika CarboDur® S1012
CFRP strips are 1.7% and 3050 MPa, respectively (Table 2).
The CSA S806-02 allows the maximum strain in the CFRP
strips to reach 1.5%.
The theoretical flexural capacity of a HC-type girder
retrofitted with CFRP strips (100 mm width × 1.2 mm thick)
is estimated according to eq. [2] to be 1236 kN·m. That is, a
25% increase in the nominal flexural capacity of girders was
expected on the basis of the theoretical estimates of the flex-
ural strength.
The same test setup as shown in Fig. 4 was used to test
the two CFRP-strengthened girders (G3 and G4). The two
girders exhibited the same failure mode. At a load of about
260 kN, a crack developed above the level of the steel rein-
forcement and vertically in line with the load. This crack
propagated down toward the support at an angle of about 45°
until it reached the level of the CFRP strips, as shown in
Figs. 11a and 11b. The crack then propagated along the in-
terface between the concrete and the CFRP strips while oc-
casionally passing through the concrete. Thus, the strips
debonded from the bottom of the web with a thin layer of
concrete on top of them. The debonding began near the mid-
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
span, then propagated to the end anchorages (the CFRP
sheets). Finally, the anchoring CFRP sheets tore, failing to
hold the debonded strips at the ends of the girder. Simulta-
neous with the ripping of the CFRP sheets, compression fail-
ure of concrete occurred in the mid-span of the girder
(Fig. 12). This mode of failure was lately described by
Swamy and Mukhopadhyaya (1999) and Teng at al. (2002).
Girder G3 failed at a load of 401 kN, while girder G4 failed
at a load of 396 kN. These loads correspond to ultimate mo-
ments Mult of 1004 and 992 kN·m with an average value of
998 kN·m. The slight difference in the ultimate moments
was affected by neither the crack propagation scheme nor
the mode of failure recorded in both tests. Results of the two
tests are summarized in Table 1 and compared with the ini-
tial capacity of the HC-type girders. The flexural capacity
was enhanced by only 11% over the experimentally recorded
capacity (899 kN·m) when using bonded CFRP strips and
sheets.
The significant discrepancy between the ultimate moment
obtained experimentally (998 kN·m) and the nominal mo-
ment estimated theoretically (1236 kN·m) can be explained
using the strain profiles recorded during the test. The strain
compatibility between the CFRP strips and the concrete sec-
tion only prevailed in the very initial stages of loading. It
was soon lost after crack initiation. It is evident from Fig. 13
that the strain in the CFRP strips increases at a faster rate
than in the steel bars until the steel begins to yield and the
CFRP strips separate. Four different stages can be defined to
generalize the behaviour of girders retrofitted with CFRP
strips. The first stage (stage I: 0–90 kN) is during the elastic
behaviour where the strain in the CFRP strips is slightly
higher than the strain in the steel bars, but they are still
roughly compatible (Fig. 13a). The second stage (stage II:
90–150 kN) starts with cracking of the concrete. The con-
crete begins to release some of its tension and the CFRP
strips take over much of this tension. Thus, the strain in the
CFRP strips increases suddenly and continues to increase at
a faster rate than the steel strain (Fig. 13a). In the third stage
(stage III: 250–320 kN) the steel reinforcement yields. The
concrete carries no tension and cracks extend to the neutral
axis of the section. The strain in the steel reinforcement in-
creases considerably with little increase in the beam capac-
ity. Any additional tension will be solely resisted by the
CFRP strips. Thus, the strain in the CFRP strips continues to
increase but at a slower rate compared with the steel strain.
At this stage, strain compatibility is totally lost (Fig. 13b).
The fourth stage (Stage IV: 320 kN to failure) begins with
the debonding of the CFRP strips. Due to the increasing
forces in the strips, high shear flow occurs between the
strips and the concrete. The concrete cracks and the strips
debond from the girder releasing some of their force. The
CFRP sheets hold the strips at both ends of the girder, resist-
ing debonding forces, and transferring shear to keep the
CFRP strips under tension. At this stage, the CFRP strips
behave as unbonded reinforcement. The strain in the steel at
this stage increases dramatically (Fig. 13b). Final failure oc-
curs when the CFRP sheets fail to hold the strips.
The experimentally recorded strains (Fig. 13) show that
the maximum strain reached in the CFRP strips was about
0.6%, which is significantly less than the strain predicted at
© 2004 NRC Canada
Sayed-Ahmed et al.
Fig. 8. An HC-type girder after rehabilitation using CFRP strips and sheets: (a) CFRP strips bonded to the soffit of the web and
(b) CFRP sheets bonded at the end of the web as an end anchor of the CFRP strips.
Fig. 9. Schematic representation of HC-type girders rehabilitated
by CFRP strips and sheets.
failure based on the strain compatibility assumption (1.38%).
Thus, debonding of the CFRP strips took place before the
assumed strain was reached.
505
A strut-and-tie model for the HC-type girders retrofitted
using carbon fibre reinforced polymer strips
Crack initiation and propagation encountered during testing
girders G3 and G4 can roughly be explained using a strut-
and-tie model (Fig. 14). The model shows that “vertical ten-
sion ties” are missing in the area between the steel reinforce-
ment and the CFRP strips. The steel stirrups (existing tension
ties) stop at the level of the reinforcement steel and
unreinforced concrete has to transfer all the forces to the
“lower tension chord” of the model, which is the CFRP strip.
Not surprisingly, the unreinforced concrete failed to resist
the combined stresses at the particular location of crack ini-
tiation. The point of crack initiation was located at the sec-
tion under the concentrated load facing the outer sides of the
beam where the maximum bending moment and maximum
shearing force acted simultaneously. This is the location of
the maximum principal stresses. Using the strut-and-tie
© 2004 NRC Canada
506 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004

Fig. 10. Stress and strain distribution at ultimate load along the cross section of the CFRP-strengthened HC-type precast RC girders
(forces in As1 and As2 are not shown).

Fig. 11. (a) Schematic of crack propagation for girders retrofitted using CFRP strips and sheets and strip separation from the soffit of
the girder; and (b) crack propagation, CFRP-strip debonding and CFRP-sheet tearing (girder G3).

model, the unreinforced concrete under the steel reinforce-
ment was estimated to fail at a concentrated load of 290 kN.
During the tests, cracks began to propagate at about 260 kN.
Cracks then propagated in the unreinforced concrete zones
just above the CFRP strips towards the end supports. When
the cracks reached the CFRP sheets, the sheets stopped fur-
ther crack propagation, and the girder continued to carry
load till the sheets tore and final failure occurred.
Thus, it is recommended that external vertical ties be used
when strengthening reinforced concrete girders with bonded
CFRP strips. The authors propose to use external ties made
of GFRP sheets and bond them to the concrete surface

© 2004 NRC Canada

Sayed-Ahmed et al.
Fig. 12. (a) Compression failure of the concrete in the vicinity of the mid-span for girder G3; and (b) final failure of girder G3.
(Fig. 15). These ties will have two effects: they are expected
to maintain the strain compatibility between the CFRP strips
and the rest of the reinforced concrete section and they will
delay the premature debonding failure described earlier. This
recommendation is similar to that of Neubauer and Rostásy
(1997a, 1997b).
Flexural strengthening of HC-type girders
using external post-tensioning
External post-tensioning is an attractive alternative to
strengthening HC-type precast bridge girders using bonded
CFRP strips. The type and layout of the post-tensioning steel
bars and the configuration of the prestressing system were
chosen to provide ease in field installation and economy.
Since bridge traffic should not be disturbed and the girders
exist beside each other, post-tensioning can only be applied
507
from underneath the bridge. This creates a problem regard-
ing anchorage of the post-tensioning bars to the girders.
Furthermore, the end diaphragms of the HC-type girders
were badly damaged and contained low levels of reinforce-
ment. Hence, the diaphragms could not be relied upon to
transfer the loads from the post-tensioning bars to the girder.
Thus, a new system with end anchorages was designed and
tested experimentally. This system is shown in Figs. 16 and 17.
The main concept of the proposed external post-
tensioning system was to jack the whole system during one
operation. This was performed by connecting four inclined
Dywidag bars (Fig. 16) with a straight one passing through a
steel hollow circular section (HSS). All the bars have 1-in.
(1 inch = 2.54 cm) diameters; however, the four inclined
bars do not need to be of the same diameter as the straight
one as they carry just more than half the force that is carried
by the straight bar. An HSS 356×13 was chosen that would
© 2004 NRC Canada
508
Fig. 13. Strain profile at a section within the vicinity of the con-
stant moment zone for girder G3: (a) before yielding of steel re-
inforcement, and (b) from yielding of steel reinforcement till
final failure.
Fig. 14. Schematic representation of the strut and tie model for
girders retrofitted in flexure using CFRP strips.
Fig. 15. Proposed details for bonding the CFRP strips to HC-
type precast girders.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
Fig. 16. Post-tensioning system used to prestress the HC-type
girders.
Fig. 17. Details of the prestressing system: (a) post-tensioning
jacking details, (b) steel end anchor details, and (c) dimensions
of the end anchorage system.
deform, at a maximum tendon load, by only 0.2 mm and the
maximum stress in its wall would be about 90 MPa. Teflon®
plates separated by a thin stainless steel plate greased with
Vaseline® were placed between the HSS and the soffits of
the girder to facilitate movement of the HSS. Shims and
neoprene pads were also placed on top of the Teflon® plates
in the damaged web zones to distribute the load. As one end
of the horizontal Dywidag bar was stressed, it applied com-
pression to the two HSS that slid along the soffits of the
webs toward the girder centreline. This, in turn, stretched the
inclined Dywidag bars that applied the prestressing force to
the girder through the end anchors.
The steel connection (end anchorage) shown in Figs. 16
and 17 was designed to resist a prestressing force of 200 kN
© 2004 NRC Canada
Sayed-Ahmed et al. 509

in service conditions. The loading on the connection was ec- Fig. 18. Pullout test performed on the proposed end anchorage
centric, consisting of direct shear, torsion, and flexure. The system.
locations of the stirrups and the reinforcing bars, as well as
the fillets on the inner side of the web were all taken into
consideration in the design. The anchor bolts used in the
connection were high strength UCAN fasteners of 12 mm in
diameter. After establishing the configuration of the connec-
tion shown in Fig. 17, a pullout test was carried out on a
trial connection (Fig. 18). A 1-in. Dywidag bar was fixed to
the connection and was jacked against a hollow steel sec-
tion. The connection failed at an ultimate load of 335 kN by
direct shear on three of the bolts — two of them were in the
row of bolts under the Dywidag bar.
The 1-in. Dywidag bar used to post-tension the girders ex-
ternally has an area Ap = 548 mm2, an ultimate tensile
strength Fult = 1034 MPa, and a yield strength Fpy =
880 MPa (εpy = 0.75%). An effective prestress force Pe =
295 kN was applied to the bar to produce an effective pre-
stress Fpe = 538 MPa and an initial strain in the bar εpe =
0.28%. In calculating the nominal moment Mn of the girder,
the stress in the Dywidag bar was estimated based on the
equation provided by CSA-A23.3-94 R2000. Thus, the stress
in the bar Fpr is given by
8000
[3] Fpr = Fpe + (dp − cy) ≤ Fpy
1e

where le is tendon length, dp is the depth to the prestressing
tendon (Fig. 19), and cy is the presumed depth to the neutral
axis of the section when all the reinforcement and
prestressing steel reach yield at the same time the concrete
crushes in compression. Using eq. [3], the stress in the
Dywidag bars was determined to be 849 MPa, which is less
than the yield strength of the bar. Referring to Fig. 19, the
nominal moment Mn of the post-tensioned cross section of
the girder is given by
 β c β c  configuration shown in Fig. 4 was adopted.
[4] M n = As Fs ds − 1  + As1 Fs1 1 − ds1 
 2   2  The strains in the Dywidag bars and the mid-span deflec-
 β c  β c
+ As2 Fs2 ds2 − 1  + Ap Fpr  dp − 1 
 2   2 
Equation [4] results in a nominal moment for the post-
tensioned girder of 1202 kN·m. Comparing this nominal mo-
ment with the nominal moment of the HC-type girder in
their initial state shows that a 21% enhancement in the nom-
inal flexural capacity of girders by external post-tensioning
can be predicted (Table 1).
Tests were performed on two girders post-tensioned with
the proposed post-tensioning system (girders G5 and G6).
Eight connections were manufactured, four for each beam,
and mounted on the webs. The inclined Dywidag bars were
fixed to the connection. The circular HSS, previously drilled
to the required angles and spacing, were connected to the in-
clined bars by nuts and washers that were placed loosely.
The central bar was then inserted to connect the two HSS.
Strain gauges were mounted on the Dywidag bars to monitor
the prestressing load during post-tensioning, the prestress
losses after completing the post-tensioning, and the forces in
the bars during testing. The load was applied gradually to
the Dywidag bar from one side using a hydraulic jack and
strain readings were recorded. When the load in the horizon-
tal bar reached 320 kN, the nut was tightened against the
HSS section to hold the load and the loading ram was re-
leased. An expected loss of 8% occurred in the bars after re-
leasing the load; the prestressing force dropped to 295 kN.
Four concrete strain gauges were mounted on the top of
the beam after completing the post-tensioning procedure.
Vertical deflection transducers (LVDTs) were also posi-
tioned in the vicinity of the mid-span of the girder to mea-
sure the vertical deflection during the tests. The testing
tion increased almost linearly during the test. The stress and
strain in the Dywidag bars are plotted versus the applied
load in Fig. 20. It is evident from this figure that the maxi-
mum strain and stress reached in all the bars were below the
yield value (εpy = 0.75% and Fpy = 880 MPa), which agree
with the calculations adopted using eq. [3] (Fpr = 849 MPa).
The maximum values of the strain and the stress recorded
during the tests in the straight Dywidag bar are 0.35% ±
004% and 672 ± 7.9 MPa. Thus, there was about 21% differ-
ence between the stress in the straight Dywidag bars calcu-
lated using eq. [3] and the stress recorded experimentally.
For girder G5, the steel reinforcement yielded at a load of
430 kN and final failure took place at 437 kN by concrete
crushing in the top compression fibres. Girder G6 exhibited
very similar behaviour with the steel reinforcement yielding
at a load of 420 kN and final failure occurring at 424 kN.
These loads correspond to experimental ultimate moments of
1087 and 1057 kN·m, respectively, with an average value of
1072 kN·m. Thus, the flexural strength was enhanced by
19% over the experimentally recorded strength (899 kN·m)
of the unstrengthened control beams. Results of both the the-
oretical prediction of the nominal moment and the experi-
mental determination of the ultimate moment are
© 2004 NRC Canada
510
Fig. 19. Stress and strain distribution at ultimate load along the cross section of the post-tensioned HC-type girders (forces in As1 and
As2 are not shown).
Fig. 20. (a) Strain in the prestressing bars of girders G5 and G6
and (b) stress in the prestressing bars of girders G5 and G6.
summarized in Table 1. It is evident that the girders
achieved almost the same flexural strength enhancement as
predicted theoretically.
Strengthening techniques and deflections
of girders
The mid-span deflections of the tested girders were re-
corded from the first application of the load to final failure.
The maximum recorded deflections at the mid-span of gird-
ers are summarized in Table 1 for the six girders. The results
reveal that deflections of post-tensioned girders at failure are
20% less than those of the control girders, while the CFRP
strengthened girders have 94% higher deflections.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
The load–deflection curves for the control, the CFRP-
strengthened and the post-tensioned girders, are plotted in
Fig. 21. The figure shows that the two strengthening tech-
niques considered do not have a significant effect on the de-
flections of the girders under service load conditions.
Summary and conclusions
Strengthening of reinforced concrete girders has become a
major concern particularly for bridges. Flexural strengthen-
ing of precast reinforced concrete bridge girders (HC-type),
which have been used in the construction of many reinforced
concrete highway bridges in Canada, was investigated. Two
rehabilitation techniques were examined. The first technique
involved bonding CFRP strips to the soffits of the girders,
while the second technique was external post-tensioning.
The initial states of girders from a dismantled bridge were
examined visually and by testing. Visual inspection showed
that most of the steel reinforcement concrete cover had
spalled-off. The steel reinforcement was badly exposed and
rusted especially at the mid-span. Bond cracks were also vis-
ible along the edges of the girders with no obvious shear
cracks. The end diaphragms were badly damaged. The maxi-
mum flexural capacity of the HC-type girders determined
experimentally was 899 kN·m.
The proposed rehabilitation techniques were assessed ex-
perimentally. For girders retrofitted by bonded CFRP strips,
an 11% enhancement in the flexural strength was achieved
experimentally. The theoretical prediction for the enhance-
ment in flexural strength using a model based on full strain
compatibility between the CFRP strips and the concrete was
found to be 25%. A premature failure mode caused this in-
crease not to be obtained: the CFRP strips debonded from
the girder before the assumed strain is reached in them.
Thus, sufficient shear reinforcement between the CFRP
strips and the flexural steel reinforcement should be applied
along the full length of the girder.
The experimental investigation also revealed that the
CFRP-strengthened girder exhibited high deflection at fail-
ure — 1.94 the deflection value of the unstrengthened girder.
A new post-tensioning system with its end anchorages
was designed. The system is composed of Dywidag bars,
hollow steel circular sections, Teflon® plates, and end steel
anchors. Two girders were post-tensioned using this system
and tested. The enhancement in flexural strength determined
experimentally for these post-tensioned girders was found to
© 2004 NRC Canada
Sayed-Ahmed et al.
Fig. 21. Load–displacement curves for control and strengthened
girders.
be 19%, very close to the theoretically predicted enhance-
ment of 21%. The post-tensioned girders exhibited deflec-
tion at failure that is 20% smaller than the unstrengthened
deflection of the girder.
Results of the experimental investigation thus showed that
classical methods of flexural strengthening (e.g., external
post-tensioning) should not be totally disregarded. Further-
more, the flexural capacity of reinforced concrete girders
with bonded CFRP strips needs to be examined further to
determine if there are any other modes of failure that need to
be included in design. To achieve full strain compatibility
between the bonded CFRP strips and the rest of the rein-
forced concrete section, external ties (composed of U-shaped
FRP sheets) need to be used simultaneously with the CFRP
strips.
Acknowledgments
This work was performed under the auspices of the Intel-
ligent Sensing in Innovative Structures (ISIS) Canada Re-
search Network (Networks of Centres of Excellence), and
was funded by the Industrial Research Assistance Program
(IRAP), and CH2M Canada Ltd. In-kind support was re-
ceived from the City of Calgary, Engineering Department.
We are very grateful for their support. We appreciate, in par-
ticular, the great help offered by G. Tadros (Speco Ltd.) and
C. McWhinnie (CH2M HILL Canada Ltd.). The help of
Sika Canada Inc. is also gratefully acknowledged. The
authors also acknowledge excellent support provided by
D. Anson, T. Quinn, and all the technical staff in the Civil
Engineering Department at The University of Calgary.
References
ACI. 1996. State-of-the-art report on FRP for concrete structures.
ACI Committee 440, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich.
ACI Report 440R-96.
Breña, S.F., Bramblett, R.M., Wood, S.L., and Kreger, M.E. 2003.
Increasing flexural capacity of reinforced concrete beams using
carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites. ACI Structural Jour-
nal, 100(1): 36–46.
Chaallal, O., Nollet, M.-J., and Perraton, D. 1998. Strengthening of
reinforced concrete beams with externally bonded fibre-
reinforced-plastic plates: design guidelines for shear and flex-
ure. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 25(4): 692–704.
511
CSA. 2000. Design of concrete structures. Standard A23.3-94
(R2000), Canadian Standards Association, Mississauga, Ont.
CSA. 2002. Design and construction of building components with
fibre-reinforced polymers. Standard S806-02, Canadian Stan-
dards Association, Mississauga, Ont.
El-Badry, M. (Editor). 1996. Proceedings of the 2nd International
Conference on Advanced Composite Materials in Bridges and
Structures, ACMBS-II, Montréal, Que., 11–14 August 1996. Ca-
nadian Society for Civil Engineering, Montréal, Que.
Grace, N.F., Sayed, G.A., Soliman, A.K., and Saleh, K.R. 1999.
Strengthening reinforced concrete beams using fibre reinforced
polymer (FRP) laminates. ACI Structural Journal, 95(5): 865–
874.
Hamilton, H.R., and Dolan, C.W. 2000. Durability of FRP rein-
forcements for concrete. Progress in Structural Engineering and
Materials, 2: 139–145.
Klaiber, F., Dunker, K., Wipf, T., and Sanders, W. 1987. Methods
of strengthening existing highway bridges. Transportation Re-
search Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.,
NCHRP Research Report No. 293.
McKenna, J.K., and Erki, M.A. 1994. Strengthening of reinforced
concrete flexure members using externally applied steel plates
and fibre composite sheets — a survey. Canadian Journal of
Civil Engineering, 21(1): 16–24.
Meier, U., Deuring, M., Meier, H., and Schwegler, G. 1993. FRP
bonded sheets. In Proceedings of the 1st International Sympo-
sium on Fibre-Reinforced-Plastic (FRP) Reinforcement for Con-
crete Structures: Properties and Applications, Vancouver, B.C.
Edited by A. Nanni. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Nether-
lands. pp. 423–434.
Munley, E. 1994. Federal highway administration research program:
fibre reinforced polymer composite materials. Proceedings of the
10th Annual ASM/ESD Advanced Composites Conference, Dear-
born, Mich., 7–10 November 1994. ASM International, Mate-
rials Park, Ohio.
Nanni, A. 1995. Concrete repair with externally bonded FRP rein-
forcement: examples from Japan. Concrete International, 17(6):
22–25.
Nanni, A. 1997. CFRP strengthening. Concrete International, 19(6):
19–23.
Neale, K.W. 2000. FRPs for structural rehabilitation: a survey of
recent progress. Progress in Structural Engineering and Mate-
rials, 2: 133–138.
Neale, K.W., and Labossière, P. 1997. State-of-the-art report on
retrofitting and strengthening by continuous fibre in Canada. In
Non-metallic (FRP) Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, Pro-
ceedings of the 3rd International Symposium (FRPRCS-3),
Sapporo, Japan, 14–16 October 1997. Japan Concrete Institute,
Tokyo, Japan. Vol. 1, pp. 25–39.
Neubauer, U., and Rostásy, F.S. 1997a. Design aspects of concrete
structures strengthened with externally bonded CFRP-plates.
Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Structural
Faults and Repair, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scot-
land, 8–10 July 1997, Vol. 2, pp. 109–118.
Neubauer, U., and Rostásy, F.S. 1997b. Strengthening of bridges
with externally bonded CFRP-plates. Proceedings of the 7th In-
ternational Conference on Structural Faults and Repair, Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, 8–10 July 1997, Vol. 1,
pp. 191–196.
Rahimi, H., and Hutchinson, A. 2001. Concrete beams strength-
ened with externally bonded FRP plates. ASCE Journal of Com-
posites for Construction, 5(1): 44–56.
Riad, A.H. 1998. Rehabilitation of HC-type bridge girders using
CFRP-sheets/strips or external post-tensioning. M.Sc. thesis,
© 2004 NRC Canada
512
Civil Engineering Department, The University of Calgary, Cal-
gary, Alta.
Saadatmanesh, H., and Ehsani, M.R. 1991. RC beams strengthened
with GFRP plates I: experimental study. ASCE Journal of Struc-
tural Engineering, 117(11): 3417–3433.
Shaw, M.A., and Drewett, J.F. 1999. Case studies of carbon fibre
bonding worldwide. In Strengthening of reinforced concrete
structures: using externally bonded FRP composites in structural
and civil engineering. Edited by L.C. Hollaway and M.B. Leem-
ing. Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, U.K. pp. 288–324.
Swamy, R.N., and Mukhopadhyaya, P. 1999. Debonding of carbon-
fibre-reinforced polymer plate concrete beams. Proceedings of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, Structures and Buildings,
134(4): 301–317.
Teng, J.G., Chen, J.F., Smith, S.T., and Lam, L. 2002. FRP strength-
ened RC structures. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. Chichester, West
Sussex, England.
List of symbols
Af cross-sectional area of the CFRP strips bonded to the
soffit of the girder
Ap area of the prestressing steel bars
As area of the steel reinforcement in the tension side of the
section
As1 area of the steel reinforcement in the compression side
of the section
As2 area of the steel reinforcement in the concrete deck
b width of the girder flange “concrete deck”
c distance from concrete top fibres to the neutral axis of
the section
cy presumed depth to the neutral axis of the section when
all the reinforcement and prestressing steel reach yield
at the same time the concrete crushes in compression
dp depth to the prestressing bars
ds depth to the steel reinforcement in the tension side of
the section at ultimate load
ds1 depth to the steel reinforcement in the compression side
of the section at ultimate load
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2004
ds2 depth to the steel reinforcement in the concrete deck at
ultimate load
Ff stress in the CFRP strips bonded to the soffit of the
girder at ultimate load
Fpe effective prestress after looses
Fpr stress in the prestressing bars at ultimate load
Fpy yield strength of the prestressing steel bars
Fs stress in the steel reinforcement in the tension side of
the section at ultimate load
Fs1 stress in the steel reinforcement in the compression side
of the section at ultimate load
Fs2 stress in the steel reinforcement in the concrete deck at
ultimate load
Fult ultimate strength of the prestressing steel bars
Fy steel yield strength
fc′ concrete compressive strength
le prestressing length of the bar
Mn nominal moment of a reinforced concrete section (theo-
retical flexural capacity)
Mult ultimate moment of a reinforced concrete section deter-
mined experimentally
Pe effective prestressing force after losses
t cross-sectional depth
α 1 ratio of the uniform stress of the equivalent rectangular
compression block to the maximum compressive strength
of the concrete
β1 ratio of the equivalent compressive stress block depth to
the depth to the neutral axis of the reinforced concrete
girder section
εc strain in the top concrete fibres in compression
εf strain in the CFRP strips bonded to the soffit of the
girder at ultimate load
εpe initial strain in the prestressing bar due to the effective
prestress
εs strain in the steel reinforcement in the tension side of
the section at ultimate load
εs1 strain in the steel reinforcement in the compression side
of the section at ultimate load
εs2 strain in the steel reinforcement in the concrete deck at
ultimate load
εy yield strain in the steel reinforcement
© 2004 NRC Canada