Boundary element analysis of CFRP reinforced steel plates

This paper expands the studies on the fatigue behaviour of CFRP-sheet reinforced steel plates using the numerical method of boundary element analysis. The numerical software program BEASY was adopted in calculating stress intensity factors, crack propagation and fatigue lives. The composite patch and the cracked steel plate were simulated using surface elements, whereas the adhesive layer was simulated as interface elements to connect the patch and steel plate. This method was validated by the good agreement between the numerical and experimental results. The influences of bond length, bond width, patch configuration, CFRP layer number, the modulus of the composite patch and adhesive shear modulus on the stress intensity factors and their fatigue lives were then evaluated using the boundary element method.