Strengthening Steel Members with Holes Under Tension Using Unidirectional GFRP Sheets

Steel structure sections are often connected using bolts and rivets, which necessitates the need for holes. These holes provide a zone of failure during loading. In the present work an attempt is made to strengthen the steel members under tensile loading with hole provision for bolts, using Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sheets. The performance of FRP wrapping is assessed by changing the angle of orientation of fiber. The experimental investigation is conducted for one hole, two hole and staggered hole arrangement and the results are compared with finite element analysis. The difference between experiment and finite element modeling are within allowable limits. From the study it is found that GFRP wrapping with 0° orientation of fiber is the most suitable in terms of ultimate strength for all the three hole configurations.