Characteristics of CFRP strengthened tubular joints subjected to different monotonic loadings P.S. Prashob, A.P. Shashikala, T.P. Somasundaran Steel and Composite Structures, 2019 Tubular joints are used in the construction of offshore structures and other land-based structures because of its ease of fabrication. These joints are subjected to different environmental loadings in their lifetime. At the time of fabrication or modification of an existing offshore platform, tubular joints are usually strengthened to withstand the environmental loads. Currently, various strengthening techniques such as ring stiffeners, gusset plates are employed to strengthen new and existing tubular joints. Due to some limitations with the present practices, some new techniques need to be addressed. Many researchers used Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) to strengthen tubular joints. Some of the studies were focused on axial compression of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) strengthened tubular joints and found that it was an efficient technique. Earlier, the authors had performed studies on Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strengthened tubular joint subjected to axial compression. The study steered to the conclusion that FRP composites is an alternative strengthening technique for tubular joints. In this work, the study was focused on axial compression of Y-joint and in plane and out of plane bending of T-joints. Experimental investigations were performed on these joints, fabricated from ASTM A106 Gr. B steel. Two sets of joints were fabricated for testing, one is a reference joint and the other is a joint strengthened with CFRP. After performing the set of experiments, test results were then compared with the numerical solution in ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). It was observed that the joints strengthened with CFRP were having improved strength, lesser surface displacement and ovalization when compared to the reference joint.
Effect of FRP parameters in strengthening the tubular joint for offshore structures P. Prashob, A. P. Shashikala, T. P. Somasundaran Ocean Systems Engineering, 2018 This paper presents the strengthening of tubular joint by wrapping Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP). In this study, total number of layers, stacking sequence and length of wrapping are the different parameters involved when fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) composites are used for strengthening. For this, parameters where varied and results were compared with the reference joint. The best stacking sequence was identified which has the highest value in ultimate load with lesser deflections. For determining the best stacking sequence, numerical investigation was performed on CFRP composites; length of wrapping and number of layers were fixed. Later, the studies were focused on CFRP and GFRP strengthened joint by varying the total number of layers and length of wrapping. An attempt was done to propose a parametric equation from multiple regression analysis, which can be used for CFRP strengthened joints. Hashin failure criteria was used to check the failure of composites. Results revealed that FRP was having a greater influence in the load bearing capacity of joints, and in reducing the deflections and stresses of joint under axial compressive loads. It was also seen that, CFRP was far better than GFRP in reducing the stresses and deflection.
Behaviour of carbon fiber reinforced polymer strengthened tubular joints P.S. Prashob, A.P. Shashikala, T.P. Somasundaran Steel and Composite Structures, 2017 This paper highlights the experimental and numerical investigations performed on a tubular T-joint fabricated from circular hollow sections under axial compressive loads applied at the brace. Tests were performed on a reference joint and the joint wrapped with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). The Nitowrap EP carbon fiber with Nitowrap 410 resin serve as a composite material is used for wrapping the T-joint. Schematic diagram of the fabricated tubular joint for the experimental test setup, along with the experimental and numerical results are presented. After performing these experiments, it has been demonstrated that the joint wrapped with CFRP has a better strength and lesser deflection than a reference joint. Finite element analysis carried out in Ansys reveals that the results were in good correlation with the experimental values.
