REPAIR OF SECTION LOSS IN GIRDER END BY CFRP USING VACUUM ASSISTED RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

 In this study, the repair method of existing steel members has been developed using Vacuum assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VaRTM) technology. As a damaged member by corrosion, webs and vertical stiffeners in girder ends were selected. In order to study repair effect experimentally, the small-sized column models were fabricated and were repaired by externally bonded CF sheets and 3D CFRP stiffeners using VaRTM. The compressive tests were conducted for 4 kinds of specimen including the specimen with/without section loss. As a result, it was found that the load carrying capacity of the repaired specimens by the proposed method was improved and equivalent to the girder without damage.