Experimental and analytical investigations of creep of epoxy adhesive at the concrete–FRP interfaces

This paper presents the results of experimental and analytical investigations on the long-term behavior of epoxy at the interface between the concrete and the fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP). Double shear experiments under sustained service load were performed on nine specimens composed of two concrete blocks connected by FRP sheets bonded to concrete using epoxy. The primary investigation parameters included the ratio of shear stress to ultimate shear strength, the epoxy thickness and the epoxy time-before-loading. Loading was sustained for periods up to nine months. We show that the magnitude of shear stress to ultimate shear strength and the epoxy time-before-loading could be the most critical parameters affecting creep of epoxy at the concrete–FRP interfaces. It was also found that the creep of epoxy can result in failure at the interfaces due to the combined effect of relatively high shear stress to ultimate shear strength and thick epoxy adhesive. This can have an adverse effect on the designed performance of reinforced concrete (RC) structures strengthened with FRP. Based on the experimental observations, rheological models were developed to simulate the long-term behavior of epoxy at the concrete–FRP interfaces. It is shown that the long-term behavior of epoxy at the interfaces can be properly modeled by analytically for both loading and unloading stages.