Abstract
Externally bonding of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has become a popular technique forretrofitting existing structures worldwide. Extensive research has been conducted in the last two decades onvarious topics such as strengthening concrete, masonry and timber structures as well as metallic structures. Thevast majority of these studies have focussed on the failure strength, rather than on stability considerations. Astudy is currently being conducted at Edinburgh University on the strengthening of thin metal shell structuresusing FRP composites. This paper presents a numerical study of the buckling behaviour of FRP strengthenedthin cylindrical shells with an axisymmetric imperfection. The results show that the buckling strength of theshell under axial loading can be significantly increased by using only a small amount of FRP in the critical areaof the imperfection. This outcome indicates that this technique is indeed very effective and economical forenhancing the buckling strength of thin shell structures, especially under conditions where a local defect causesthe shell to fail the tolerance requirement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the First Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures |
| Subtitle of host publication | APFIS 2007 |
| Editors | S. T. Smith |
| Publisher | Deptartment of Civil Engineering, University of Hong Kong |
| Pages | 1011-1016 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789628014149, 9628014145 |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Dec 2007 |