Fire Protection of CFRP-strengthened RC Structures

Abstract

The work within describes the test method for determining the contribution to the fire resistance of CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete structural members, developed in the Fire Testing Laboratory of Building Research Institute (ITB). The first test results have shown that the required thickness of fire protection material is larger than had been expected and calculated numerically. For example, in order to protect the CFRP strips glued onto the beam’s concrete surface, without any mechanical fixing, for 120 minutes of standard fire conditions (ISO 834), which is to maintain temperature on the contact surface between the CFRP strip and concrete lower surface at 62°C (143.6°F), 125 mm of a fire protection is needed. The same insulation material, at only 30 mm thick, can fire proof the same cross-section size RC beam without CFRP-strengthening for 240 minutes