Experimental Investigations on Impact Behavior

of CFRP Cables under Pretension

Yu Xiang 1; Zhi Fang 2; Changlin Wang 3; Yu Zhang 4; and Yawei Fang 5

Abstract: Carbon fiberreinforced polymer/plastic (CFRP) used in bridge cables may be subjected to lateral impacts caused by vehicle
collisions when in service. However, to date, few studies have been conducted on the impact behavior of CFRP cables and their anchor
systems. In this paper, the impact behavior of CFRP cables was investigated through drop-weight tests of eight CFRP cable specimens. A
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seven-wire CFRP strand was used as the tendon, and reactive powder concrete (RPC) was used as the filling grout for anchors at both ends of
each specimen. The results show that a bond length of no less than 36 times the diameter of the wire of the CFRP strand in 128 MPa RPC
grout can provide a CFRP strand with reliable anchorage under impact. The average transverse impact resistance of the specimens was
approximately 16 kN and was not significantly influenced by pretension. The specimens fractured at a cable tension of 30% of the static
tensile breaking load under transverse impact. In addition, the energy dissipation capacities for specimens with pretension to static tensile
breaking load ratios of approximately 10, 21, and 26% were 632, 727, and 902 J, respectively. Finally, a normalized energy profile diagram
(EPD) was established for the design and damage evaluation of a CFRP cable in the case of an impact event. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CC
.1943-5614.0000745. 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Drop-weight test; Carbon fiberreinforced polymer/plastic (CFRP); Reactive powder concrete (RPC); Cable; Strand;
Energy dissipation.

Introduction
With its characteristics of high specific strength, inherent corrosion
resistance, and excellent fatigue resistance, carbon fiberreinforced
polymer/plastic (CFRP) cable appears to be an ideal replacement
for steel cable in bridges (Wang and Wu 2010; Meier 2012).
Among the various CFRP products used in civil structures, CFRP
strands have the advantage that they can be coiled and transported
easily, which facilitates their application as cables in bridges. How-
ever, when in service, CFRP cables are threatened by possible
vehicle collisions because of their vulnerability to lateral impact.
Therefore, the behavior of a CFRP cable under lateral impact
warrants further investigation.
Extensive studies have been conducted on the impact behavior
of CFRP laminates, but few if any such investigations have focused
on CFRP cables. Test results have shown that four major macro-
damage phenomena can be observed during the impact of CFRP
laminates: matrix damage, delamination, fiber failure, and penetra-
tion (Cantwell and Morton 1989a). The impact behavior is strongly
affected by various influencing factors, including the geometry and
1
Ph.D. Candidate, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan Univ.,
Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. E-mail: xiangyu@hnu.edu.cn
2
Professor, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan Univ., Key Laboratory
for Wind and Bridge Engineering of Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan
410082, China (corresponding author). E-mail: fangzhi@hnu.edu.cn
3
Masters Student, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan Univ.,
Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. E-mail: wangchanglin@hnu.edu.cn
4
Ph.D. Candidate, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan Univ.,
Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. E-mail: zhangyu33@hnu.edu.cn
5
Ph.D. Candidate, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan Univ.,
Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. E-mail: hudafyw@163.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on February 29, 2016; approved
on July 5, 2016; published online on August 16, 2016. Discussion period
open until January 16, 2017; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Composites for Con-
struction, ASCE, ISSN 1090-0268.
layup of the specimen (Cantwell and Morton 1989b; Ghelli and
Minak 2011), the shape of the impactor (Mitrevski et al. 2006),
and the projectile mass (Cantwell and Morton 1989c).
Several researchers have noted that composite structures are
generally under a certain state of prestress before being subjected
to impact. Therefore, experiments have been conducted to investi-
gate the influence of uniaxial and biaxial pretension on the low-
velocity impact behavior of CFRP laminates (Butcher 1979; Mines
and Li 2000; Saghafi et al. 2014). The results showed that with the
increasing pretension, the stiffness of such laminates increases, and
the energy dissipation capacity decreases. The maximum value of
impact force depends on the damage patterns of CFRP laminates.
For the nonperforated case, the maximum impact force increases
with increasing pretension (Sun and Chen 1985; Chiu et al. 1997).
In contrast, for the perforated case, the maximum impact force
decreases with increasing pretension (Nettles 1998). Specifically,
for the perforation scenario, experiments (Whittingham et al.
2004; Heimbs et al. 2009) and analytical predictions (Khalili et al.
2007) have further demonstrated that under a pretension lower than
30% of the ultimate tensile load, the maximum impact force is
nearly independent of the magnitude of pretension.
To evaluate the impact damage to CFRP laminates, two major
perspectives have been considered: one is based on the residual
load-bearing capability of the material after an impact event
(Caprino et al. 1999; Schoeppner and Abrate 2000), whereas the
other is concerned with the energy absorption capacity of the
material. Energy-based approaches have been used to quantify
the energy absorbed through different mechanisms (Quaresimin
et al. 2013; Delfosse and Poursartip 1997).
Based on the aforementioned considerations, the purpose of the
present study was to investigate the impact behavior of a CFRP
cable system under pretension. Drop-weight tests were performed
on eight scaled CFRP cable specimens, and pretension was applied
to simulate the initial tension in the cable. The design of the scaled
specimens was in accordance with that of a high-performance cable
system proposed for cable-supported bridges (Fig. 1), which

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J. Compos. Constr., 04016087


CFRP strands Bond-type anchor
RPC grout Ear plate
Fig. 1. Schematic of the high performance cable system
(a)
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CFRP strand Anchor
mm
50
250 mm 1500 mm 150,200,250mm
2000 mm
(b) Steel anchor with
external thread (M50 3)
Untwisted CFRP strand
RPC grout
Fig. 2. Overall geometry of specimen: (a) general size; (b) details of
the bond-type anchor
consists of multiple CFRP strands and reactive powder concrete
(RPC)-grouted bond-type anchors at both ends of each cable. This
type of anchor has been applied in the large-scale CFRP ground
anchor system of the Aizhai Bridge in China, which has a capacity
of more than 4,000 kN (Zhang et al. 2015) and exhibits excellent
durability and load efficiency.
Experimental Program
Specimen Preparation
The specimens were designed to have the same slenderness ratio
and initial stress level as a suspender in a prototype suspension
bridge with a main span of 856 m. Each scaled specimen, consist-
ing of a seven-wire CFRP strand of 12.5 mm in nominal diameter
and two bond-type anchors grouted with RPC at each end, was
prepared [Fig. 2(a)]. The total length of each specimen was
2,000 mm, with a free length of 1,600 mm, and the inner and ex-
ternal diameters of the anchor tube were 48 and 50 mm, respec-
tively. The anchor at one end of each specimen had a fixed length
of 250 mm and an external M50 3 thread for the application of
pretension; the length of the anchor at the other end varied from 150
to 250 mm. To increase the effective contact area with the filling
grout for better anchoring performance, the CFRP strand was un-
twisted inside the anchor tube [Fig. 2(b)]. In addition, a layer of
surgical tape was wrapped around the CFRP strand at the midspan
to connect the potentiometer to the bottom of the CFRP strand.
However, the tape was less than 20 mm in length and less than
0.3 mm in thickness; therefore, it is assumed that the tape had only
a limited effect on the overall dynamic response.
ASCE 04016087-2
J. Compos. Constr., 04016087
Epoxy resin
Synthetic yarn
Individual wire
3.72 mm
12.54 mm
Fig. 3. CFRP strand
Specimen Pressure sensor
Supporting device Hydraulic jack
Fig. 4. Setup of the static tensile test
Material Properties
The CFRP strands used in this study were obtained from Tokyo
Rope (Tokyo, Japan). The individual wires of these strands are fab-
ricated through a roving prepreg process and are then twisted and
wrapped with a synthetic protective yarn. These strands consist of
seven twisted CFRP wires (Fig. 3). The nominal diameters of the
CFRP strands and the individual wires were measured to be
12.54 mm (D) and 4.18 mm (d), respectively. The effective diam-
eter of an individual wire that excludes the depth of the protective
yarn was measured to be 3.72 mm (de ); thus, the effective cross-
sectional area for seven wires was calculated to be 76 mm2 (A).
Static axial tensile tests were conducted on three specimens using
the test setup depicted in Fig. 4. The CFRP strands showed an es-
sentially linear stress-strain relationship, with a measured average
breaking load of 193 kN, a tensile strength of 2,539 MPa, and a
modulus of elasticity of 157 GPa.
RPC was selected as the filling grout for the bond-type anchors.
This cement-based material was prepared based on the minimum
porosity of an optimized granular mixture with ultra-high perfor-
mance properties, including high strength, limited shrinkage and
creep, and remarkable durability (Feylessoufi et al. 1996). The
mixture proportions of the RPC (Table 1) were chosen to ensure
a filling grout with favorable mechanical properties. To achieve
a high strength as rapidly as possible to ensure minimal shrinkage
of the RPC grout, the grout in the anchors was subjected to hot
curing (24 h at room temperature followed by 72 h in hot water
at 80
5C). The 28-day compressive strengths of standard
100 mm RPC cubes and 100 100 400-mm RPC prisms were
measured to be 128 and 114 MPa, respectively. The methods used
for the preparation and compressive strength testing of the RPC
were in accordance with the GB/T31387-2015 test standard
(CECS 2015).
Test Setup and Procedure
A fixture was designed for the pretensioning and impact testing of
the CFRP strands (Fig. 5). Two test pedestals at the two ends of the
J. Compos. Constr.
 Table 1. RPC Constituent Proportions The anchor

Material Proportion (kg=m3 )

Ordinary portland cement 846
Silica powder 212
Quartz sand 931
Quartz powder 254
Superplasticiser 17
Water 190
Water/cement 0.225

Pressure sensor The nut

Hammer Fig. 6. Details of the pretension device

mm
280
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Specimen
digital data acquisition system at a rate of 500 kHz without filter-
ing. The impact force was measured through two different means:

1260 mm
the first was a conventional strain gaugebased load cell mounted
on the hammer, and the other was a piezoelectric load washer
built into the hammer. The cable tension was measured by a pre-
48 steel screw 4 assembled pressure sensor between the anchor and nut. Three po-
tentiometers were usedone at the midspan and one at each of the
Test pedestal 2
two endsto monitor the lateral deflection and axial deformation,
respectively, during impact. A high-speed camera was used to re-
500 mm 1400 mm 500 mm
cord the dynamic response and failure process of the specimen at a
Potentiometer : axial transverse rate of 500 frames per second.
(a)

Results and Discussion

A total of eight specimens were tested using the aforementioned

method. The test parameters included the incident impact energy
(Eimp ), the pretension (P), and the length of the bond-type anchor
(L). The incident impact energy was determined from the potential
energy of the hammer, which was calculated using the following
formula: Eimp mgH (in which, m, g, and H denote the mass of
the hammer, the acceleration of gravity, and the drop height, respec-
R=20mm tively). Corresponding to a pretension (P), the pretension ratio ()
(b) was defined as the ratio of the pretension to the static tensile break-
ing load of the CFRP strand. A summary of the impact conditions
Fig. 5. Drop-weight impact test setup: (a) schematic; (b) photograph and the main results is presented in Table 2, and the nomenclature
for the specimens is defined in Fig. 7.

specimen were connected by four high-strength screws of 48 mm in Impact Process

diameter. The axial compressive stiffness of the four high-strength
screws was approximately 120 times greater than the axial tensile
stiffness of the CFRP strands. In addition, the entire device was
bolted to the concrete foundation of the laboratory. Consequently,
this specially designed fixture could provide each specimen with
sufficient support and reduce the vibrations during impact. Before
each impact test, a specimen was loaded to the designed pretension
at the fixture by tightening the nut outside the anchor, which was
then locked to establish a fixed support condition at both ends of
the specimen (Fig. 6).
The impact tests were conducted using a drop-weight apparatus
that consisted of a lifting device, a control system, a hammer trig-
ger, and a data acquisition system. During each impact event, a
hammer assembly with a weight of 187 kg was lifted to the des-
ignated drop height (H) and then released to apply a transverse im-
pact to the midspan of the specimen. The hammer assembly was
composed of a semicylindrical impact head and an additional bob-
weight [Fig. 5(b)]. The time-history curves of the impact force, ca-
ble tension, and deflection of the specimen were collected using a
Photographs illustrating the typical failure process of a CFRP
strand under impact, which were selected from the high-speed pho-
tography images collected for specimen C1-L150-P40-H1000, are
presented in Fig. 8. Under the assumption of a triggering time
of zero, the characteristic time parameters, including tcont , tmax ,
tf , and td , are defined in Fig. 9. In the case of specimen C1-
L150-P40-H1000, the hammer hit the CFRP strand at 24 ms
(tcont 24 ms), the failure initiated with the fracturing of an indi-
vidual wire at 42 ms (tmax 42 ms), and the remaining wires were
successively severed until complete fracture occurred at 57 ms
(tf 57 ms); the total duration of the impact was approximately
33 ms (td 33 ms). As summarized in Table 2, at the same inci-
dent impact energy of 1,100 J, the impact durations for specimens
under pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN were 68, 51, and 43 ms,
respectively. Moreover, at the same pretension of 40 kN, the impact
durations for specimens subjected to incident impact energies
of 367, 1,100, and 1,833 J were approximately 100, 51, and
33 ms, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that the duration
of impact decreases with increasing incident impact energy and

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 Table 2. Overview of Test Parameters and Results
Specimen code Eimp (J) P (kN) H (mm) Fmax (kN) td (ms) tmax (ms) T c;max (kN) T max (kN) dmax (mm) du (mm)
C1-L150-P40-H1000 1,833 40 1,000 0.21 16.0 33 42 24.5 64.5 69.3 105.2
C2-L250-P20-H600 1,100 20 600 0.10 16.3 68 64 32.3 52.3 89.5 145.6
C3-L250-P40-H600 1,100 40 600 0.21 15.8 51 53 22.8 62.8 61.6 122.6
C4-L250-P50-H600 1,100 50 600 0.26 16.2 43 54 17.6 67.6 63.5 108.3
C5-L250-P30-H400 733 30 400 0.16 13.8 157 68 19.4 49.4 60.2
C6-L150-P40-H200 367 40 200 0.21 13.0 108 122 20.8 60.8 59.4
C7-L200-P40-H200 367 40 200 0.21 13.5 101 117 20.2 60.2 58.9
C8-L250-P40-H200 367 40 200 0.21 12.7 100 119 19.4 59.4 57.3
Note: dmax = lateral deflection at the Fmax ; du = transverse deflection at specimen fractured; Eimp = incident impact energy; Fmax = maximum impact force;
H = drop height; P = pretension; T c;max = maximum cable tension increment; T max = maximum total cable tension; td = duration of the impact; tmax = time to
reach Fmax ; and = pretension ratio.
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C8-L250-P40-H200 Impact Force History

The drop height of 200mm
The pretension of 40kN
The anchor length of 250mm
The 8th specimen
Fig. 7. Meaning of the specimen code
pretension. This conclusion can be understood to be a result of the
more rapid failure of the CFRP strand under a higher incident
impact energy or a higher pretension, thus leading to a shorter
impact duration.
Damage Pattern
The damage to the CFRP strands under impact was characterized
by three typical patterns: (1) complete fracture; (2) partial fracture;
and (3) indentation (Fig. 10). Specimens subjected to high incident
impact energies of 1,100 and 1,833 J exhibited the complete frac-
ture of all seven wires in the CFRP strand [Fig. 10(a)]. When a
specimen was subjected to an incident impact energy of 733 J, only
four wires of the CFRP strand were fractured [Fig. 10(b)]. Finally,
for a specimen subjected to a low incident impact energy such as
367 J, the hammer hit the CFRP strand and rebounded, and an in-
dentation was observed afterward on the top face of the CFRP
strand [Fig. 10(c)]. Furthermore, no obvious slip was observed be-
tween the CFRP strand and the filling grout for all specimens.
The impact force histories for specimens C1-L150-P40-H1000,
C3-L250-P40-H600, and C8-L250-P40-H200, which were sub-
jected to three different incident impact energies of 1,833, 1,100,
and 367 J, respectively, are presented and compared in Fig. 11(a).
An additional variable is also relevant to the comparison among
specimens C1, C3, and C8 because the anchor length of C1
(150 mm) was less than that of C3 and C8 (both 250 mm). How-
ever, further discussion in subsequent sections will reveal that for
anchor lengths longer than 150 mm, all anchors provided reliable
anchorage for the CFRP strands, and the anchor length had almost
no influence on the impact behavior. First, concerning the ascend-
ing phase of these curves, the maximum impact forces (Fmax ) for
the completely fractured specimens C1 and C3 were 16.0 and
15.8 kN at 42 and 53 ms, respectively; whereas the Fmax for speci-
men C8 reached only 12.7 kN at 119 ms. These values of Fmax for
specimens C1, C3, and C8 indicate that Fmax initially increases
with an increasing incident impact energy and then reaches a
plateau value as the impact resistance of the CFRP strand is ap-
proached. A similar trend has also been observed in a study of
the impact behavior of CFRP laminates (Feraboli and Kedward
2006). As a result, the transverse impact resistance of a CFRP
strand under a pretension of 40 kN was determined to be approx-
imately 16 kN. Second, with regard to the descending phase of
these curves, the curve for a fractured specimen exhibits a severe
drop in load followed by several minor load drops owing to the
successive breakage of the wires of the CFRP strand.
Fig. 11(b) presents the impact force histories for specimens
under three different pretensions. The maximum impact forces

24 ms 28 ms 40 ms

42 ms 44 ms 57 ms

Fig. 8. High-speed photography images of the impact failure process

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 Impact Force (kN)
Triggering: t = 0
Fmax
Contact: tcont
Peak force: tmax
Failure/Separate: tf
Duration : td = tf - tcont
t =0 (Triggering) tcont tmax
Fig. 9. Illustration of the characteristic time parameters
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were 16.3, 15.8, and 16.2 kN for pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN,
respectively. The maximum impact force slightly decreases with
increasing pretension. These results can be understood that for a
nonfractured specimen, the maximum impact force is lower than
the impact resistance and is determined by the transverse stiffness
of the CFRP strand. Because of the stress stiffening of a preten-
sioned CFRP strand, a specimen under a higher pretension can
exhibit a higher stiffness and, consequently, a larger maximum im-
pact force. In contrast, for a fractured specimen such as C2, C3, or
C4, the maximum impact force is equal to the impact resistance,
which is determined by both the stiffness and the energy absorption
capacity of the CFRP strand. In this case, when the CFRP strand is
under a higher pretension, less energy can be dissipated during im-
pact, thus leading to a lower impact resistance. In addition, because
the pretension to static tensile breaking load ratios considered in the
present study were lower than 30%, the effect of the pretension on
the impact resistance was quite small; this observation is consistent
with previous conclusions reported in the literature (Whittingham
et al. 2004; Heimbs et al. 2009; Khalili et al. 2007).
The impact force histories for CFRP strands with three different
anchor lengths of 150, 200, and 250 mm that were subjected to
the same incident impact energy and pretension are shown in
Fig. 11(c). These three impact force histories are very similar, with
maximum impact forces of 13.0, 13.5, and 12.7 kN, respectively.
The test results show that at an incident impact energy of 367 J,
which was the lowest among the tested energies, the use of different
anchor lengths of greater than 150 mm has almost no influence on
the impact force history.
Cable Tension History
Fig. 12(a) shows the cable tension increment histories for speci-
mens subjected to three different incident impact energies. At a rel-
atively low incident impact energy of 367 J, the specimen was not
Fig. 10. Typical damage patterns: (a) complete fracture; (b) partial fracture; (c) indentation
ASCE
fractured during impact, and the cable tension increment increased
to a peak value of 19.4 kN and then decreased to zero, indicating
nearly elastic behavior of the CFRP strand. At high incident impact
energies of 1,100 and 1,833 J, the specimens completely fractured,
and their cable tension increments showed a rapid increase
during the ascending phase to maximum values of 22.8 and
24.5 kN, respectively, followed by a stepwise decrease attributable
to the sequential fracturing of the wires in the CFRP strand. The
relationships of the maximum cable tension increment (T c;max ) and
the total cable tension (T max ) versus the incident impact energy
were similar to that of the maximum impact force versus the inci-
tf Time (ms) dent impact energy. Accordingly, the plateau value for T max was
determined to be approximately 63.7 kN for a specimen with a
pretension of 40 kN. T max is concluded to reach approximately
30% of the static tensile breaking load of the CFRP strand before
the specimen transversely fractured.
Fig. 12(b) shows the influence of the pretension on the cable
tension increment history. The values of T c;max for specimens under
three different pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN were 32.3, 22.8,
and 17.6 kN, respectively, and the corresponding T max values were
52.3, 62.8, and 67.6 kN, respectively. The value of T c;max decreases
almost linearly with an increasing pretension because a specimen
with a lower pretension can achieve a larger maximum deflection
dmax and, correspondingly, a larger axial elongation. The maximum
total cable tension increases with increasing pretension because at a
higher pretension, more individual wires are fractured at the peak
point, as indicated by the first load drop in each curve.
Fig. 12(c) shows the cable tension increment histories for spec-
imens with three different anchor lengths. These three curves are
very similar, with maximum cable tension increments of 20.8, 20.2,
and 19.4 kN, for anchor lengths of 150, 200, and 250 mm, respec-
tively. Consequently, the use of different anchor lengths of no less
than 150 mm are shown to have almost no influence on the cable
tension increment history when the incident impact energy is 367 J.
Impact Force-Deflection Relationship
The axial deformation and corresponding cable tension increment
histories for specimens C6-L150-P40-H200 and C1-L150-P40-
H1000, which had the same bond length of 150 mm, are presented
in Fig. 13. The potentiometers placed at either end of each speci-
men yielded the sum of any possible slip that may have occurred in
the anchor and the elongation of the CFRP strand within the length
of the gauge. The axial deformations exhibited a synchronous
increase with the cable tension increments and reached 2.47 and
2.62 mm for specimens C6 and C1, respectively, as the cable ten-
sion increments reached their maximum values. In addition, for
Specimen C6, which was subjected to an incident impact energy
of 367 J, the total axial deformation eventually recovered to zero,
whereas for Specimen C1, which was subjected to an incident
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 (a)
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(b)
(c)
Fig. 11. Impact force histories: (a) specimens with different impact
energies; (b) specimens with different pretensions; (c) specimens with
different bond lengths
impact energy of 1,833 J, the ascending phase of the axial defor-
mation history exhibited a linear elastic characteristic. Moreover,
no obvious slip was observed in either specimen after the tests.
Therefore, the observed axial deformations corresponded to the
elongation of the CFRP strand rather than any slip in the anchor.
An anchor with a bond length of no less than 150 mm, approxi-
mately 36 times the diameter of the wires in the CFRP strands,
and grouted with 128-MPa RPC grout can thus provide a CFRP
strand with reliable anchorage under an incident impact energy
not only of 367 J but also as high as 1,833 J.
The impact force-deflection curves are closely related to the
damage patterns of the specimens [Fig. 14(a)]. Regarding the in-
dentation-type pattern, specimen C8-L250-P40-H200 exhibited al-
most overlapping ascending and descending phases of the impact
force-deflection curve. The impact force and deflection simultane-
ously increased to their maximum values of 12.7 kN and 57.3 mm,
ASCE 04016087-6
J. Compos. Constr., 04016087
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 12. Cable tension increment histories: (a) specimens with different
impact energies; (b) specimens with different pretensions; (c) speci-
mens with different bond lengths
respectively, and eventually returned to zero after the rebound of
the hammer. Little reduction is evident in the slopes of the ascend-
ing and descending phases. Regarding the pattern of partial frac-
ture, specimen C5-L250-P30-H400 showed a linear ascending
phase similar to that of specimen C8 and reached a maximum im-
pact force of 13.8 kN at a deflection of 60.2 mm. A subsequent
stepwise decrease in the impact force accompanied by a continuous
increase in deflection can be observed from the curve of specimen
C5, reflecting the sequential fracturing of four individual wires.
Because three wires survived after impact, the force eventually de-
creased to zero with a permanent deflection of 24.0 mm. Finally,
regarding the pattern of complete fracture, both specimens C1-
L150-P40-H1000 and C3-L250-P40-H600 presented open-type
impact force-deflection curves. The linear ascending phase and
the stepwise descending phase of these two curves are similar
to those of Specimen C5. Specimens C1 and C3 reached their
J. Compos. Constr.
 (a) (b)

Fig. 13. Typical cable tension increment and axial deformation histories: (a) C6-L150-P40-H200 with an incident impact energy of 367 J;
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(b) C1-L150-P40-H1000 with an incident impact energy of 1833J

maximum impact forces of 16.0 and 15.8 kN at deflections of 69.3

and 61.6 mm, respectively. Subsequently, the impact forces gradu-
ally decreased to zero while the deflections continued to increase
to 105.2 and 122.6 mm, respectively, until the two specimens had
completely fractured. Furthermore, the slope of the ascending
phase of the impact force-deflection curve reflects the transverse
stiffness of the CFRP strand. In Fig. 14(a), similar slopes are ob-
served for two specimens under the same pretension of 40 kN,
indicating that the incident impact energy has little effect on the
transverse stiffness of a CFRP strand.
Fig. 14(b) shows the impact force-deflection curves for speci-
mens under different pretensions. As shown from the figure, the
(a) slopes of the ascending phase for pretensions of 50 and 40 kN
are nearly the same, and steeper than that for pretension of 20 kN.
The results can be understood because the pretension decreased
by only 20% from 50 to 40 kN, the decreasing in the transverse
stiffness of the CFRP strand was not obvious. However, as the pre-
tension decreased by approximately 50% from 40 to 20 kN, a sig-
nificant decrease in transverse stiffness was exhibited. Thus, the
slope of the ascending phase nonlinearly decreases with decreasing
pretension. Moreover, the deflections at the failure points were
145.6, 122.6, and 108.3 mm for pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN,
respectively, indicating that the specimen with the lowest preten-
sion in the tested range of 2050 kN exhibited the highest ultimate
deflection.
Fig. 14(c) shows the impact force-deflection curves for speci-
(b) mens with three different anchor lengths. The three curves are ob-
served to be nearly overlapping, showing quasi-elastic ascending
and descending phases and exhibiting almost no residual deflec-
tions at the end of the impact event. In addition, the maximum im-
pact force was coincident with the maximum deflection: for anchor
lengths of 150, 200, and 250 mm, the maximum deflections were
approximately 59.4, 58.9, and 57.3 mm, with corresponding maxi-
mum impact forces of 13.0, 13.5, and 12.7 kN, respectively. The
results reveal that the use of any anchor with a bond length of no
less than 150 mm in 128 MPa RPC grout has almost no influence
on the stiffness and deflection of a CFRP cable specimen under
impact.

(c) Energy History

The energy transferred from the hammer to the specimen in an
Fig. 14. Impact force-deflection curves: (a) specimens with different
impact event can be calculated by integrating the impact force-
damage patterns; (b) specimens with different pretensions; (c) speci-
deflection curve (Fig. 15). Furthermore, the energy balance during
mens with different bond lengths
impact can be expressed as follows:

ASCE 04016087-7 J. Compos. Constr.

J. Compos. Constr., 04016087

 900
800
700
Eel
600

Energy (J)
500
400
300 Etot
Edis
200
100
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
(a) Time (s)
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Fig. 16. Typical energy history to illustrate the energy balance

Table 3. Values of Energy Characteristics

Eimp Etot Edis Eel Edis =Eimp Edis =Etot
Specimen code (J) (J) (J) (J) (%) (%)
C1-L150-P40-H1000 1,833 728 728 0 40 100
C2-L250-P20-H600 1,100 902 902 0 82 100
C3-L250-P40-H600 1,100 725 725 0 66 100
C4-L250-P50-H600 1,100 632 632 0 57 100
C5-L250-P30-H400 733 714 537 177 73 75
(b) C6-L150-P40-H200 367 350 23 327 6 7
C7-L200-P40-H200 367 364 24 340 7 7
C8-L250-P40-H200 367 327 45 282 12 14

case, corresponding to specimen C8-L250-P40-H200; the energy

(c)
Fig. 15. Energy histories: (a) specimens with different damage pat-
terns; (b) specimens with different pretensions; (c) specimens with
different bond lengths
Eimp Etot Eexc 1 different pretensions. The dissipated energies were 902, 725, and
Etot Eel Edis 2 dissipate 42 and 15% more energy, respectively, than could that
where Eimp = incident impact energy; Eexc = excess energy that
would remain in the hammer if the CFRP strand completely frac-
tured after impact; and Etot = total energy transferred to the speci-
men, consisting of the elastic energy (Eel ) that is stored elastically
in the specimen and transferred back to the hammer and the dis-
sipated energy (Edis ) that is expended in creating the various types
of damage (Delfosse and Poursartip 1997). These parameters for
each specimen, including Etot , Eel , and Edis , were identified from
the energy histories, as illustrated in Fig. 16 and summarized in
Table 3.
Three distinct energy history shapes, coinciding with the typical
damage patterns, are depicted in Fig. 15(a). The first is the rebound
transferred to this specimen was 327 J. Most of the energy was
transferred back to the hammer for the rebound, and very little en-
ergy was dissipated, indicating slight damage to the CFRP strand.
The second is the partial fracture case, corresponding to specimen
C5-L250-P30-H400; the energy transferred to this specimen was
714 J, and 75% of the transferred energy was dissipated by the
CFRP strand. The third is the complete fracture case, corresponding
to specimens C1-L150-P40-H1000 and C3-L250-P40-H600; the
energies transferred to these two specimens were 728 and 725 J,
respectively, which were fully dissipated by the complete fracture
of the CFRP strands. Because the dissipated energies for specimen
C1 and C3 are very similar, the average energy dissipation capacity
of a CFRP strand under a pretension of 40 kN is approxi-
mately 727 J.
Fig. 15(b) shows the energy histories for specimens under three
632 J for pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN, respectively. Conse-
quently, the specimens under pretensions of 20 and 40 kN could
under a pretension of 50 kN. Before impact, the pretension resulted
in the storage of an initial tensile strain energy in the CFRP strand.
For specimens under pretensions of 20, 40, and 50 kN, these initial
tensile strain energies were calculated to be 27, 105, and 163 J,
respectively. Therefore, when the initial tensile strain energy is
larger, less energy capacity is available for dissipation under impact
because the total energy that can be stored by a specimen before
fracture is theoretically constant.
Fig. 15(c) shows the energy histories for specimens with three
different anchor lengths. The total energies transferred to the spec-
imens were 350, 364, and 327 J for anchor lengths of 150, 200,
and 250 mm, respectively. The similarities among the curves in
Fig. 15(c) reveal that the energy history is insensitive to the anchor

ASCE 04016087-8 J. Compos. Constr.

J. Compos. Constr., 04016087

 1000
Equal energy line 1200
Dissipated energy Edis (J) EF =1027-1088.7-1657.22 R2=1
800 EF 727 J 1000

600 800

EF (J)
600
400 Eel
Completely fractured region 400
200
Edis
200
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 0
0.10 0.21 0.26
Incident impact energy Eimp (J)
Pretension ratio ()
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Fig. 17. Illustration of the definition for EF Fig. 18. Effect of pretension ratio on EF

length, because all anchors with a bond length of no less than

150 mm in 128 MPa RPC grout provided the CFRP strand with 1.0
reliable anchorage. However, it can be speculated that if the anchor
could not provide reliable anchorage for the CFRP strand, slip 0.8 y=x4.63 R2=0.9991
would occur before the fracture of the CFRP strand. Because part

Edis /EF
of the incident energy would be dissipated by the slip between 0.6
the CFRP strand and the RPC grout, the energy history should be
affected by the performance of the anchorage. 0.4

0.2
Energy Dissipation Capacity
To characterize the energy dissipation capacity of a CFRP cable, 0.0
the complete fracture energy (EF ) was defined based on the energy 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
profile diagram (EPD) (Atas and Sayman 2008), which illustrates Eimp /EF
the relationship between the dissipated energy Edis and the incident
impact energy Eimp (Fig. 17). The dissipated energy initially in- Fig. 19. Dissipation coefficient versus impact intensity coefficient
creases as the incident impact energy increases and then reaches
a plateau value, which is defined as EF . According to this defini-
tion, the value of EF is equal to the average amount of energy dis- In Eq. (4), the dissipation coefficient (Edis =EF ) can be inter-
sipated by all completely fractured specimens. Therefore, for a preted as a measure of the level of damage with respect to the
pretension of 40 kN, EF is determined to be 727 J. complete fracture of the CFRP cable. The normalized EPD and
EF is plotted as a function of the pretension ratio in Fig. 18, the complete fracture energy EF can be experimentally determined
and the fit function for these data is shown in Eq. (3). It can be for a CFRP cable. Therefore, once the safety degree or damage
inferred from Eq. (3) that for a specimen without pretension, the tolerance has been specified, the designer can estimate the maxi-
energy dissipation capacity would be 1,027 J mum allowable incident impact energy or impact velocity and de-
sign the protective device accordingly. Similarly, if the incident
EF 1,027 1,088.7 1,657.22 3 impact energy is known, the level of damage to the CFRP cable
can be assessed. Also, the normalized EPD presented in this study
However, for a real CFRP cable, the pretension is controlled
was established based on results obtained from scaled specimens.
by the dead and live structural loads, which means that the method
Compared with a real CFRP cable, many factors, including the im-
of reducing the pretension to increase the energy dissipation has
pact position, the specimen geometry, the number of tendons and
natural limitations. Therefore, efficient protective layers are needed
the protective device, were simplified in the present study. Thus,
to improve the EF value of a CFRP cable.
further investigations will be needed to develop a normalized
For the design and damage evaluation of a CFRP cable under
EPD for a real CFRP cable.
impact, a normalized EPD is plotted in Fig. 19, where the y-axis
corresponds to the dissipation coefficient, which is defined as the
ratio of the dissipated energy to the complete fracture energy,
Edis =EF , and the x-axis corresponds to the impact intensity coeffi- Conclusions
cient, which is defined as the ratio of the incident impact energy to
In this paper, the impact behavior of scaled CFRP cables under
the complete fracture energy, Eimp =EF . Based on the test results, the
pretension was experimentally studied, and the effects of the inci-
fit function for the normalized EPD in Fig. 19 is given by Eq. (4)
dent impact energy, the pretension, and the length of the bond-type
 
Edis Eimp 4.63 Eimp anchor were investigated. The following conclusions can be drawn
1 from the results obtained:
EF EF EF
The CFRP strands exhibited three typical damage patterns under
Edis Eimp impact: (1) complete fracture; (2) partial fracture; and (3) inden-
1 >1 4
EF EF tation. The dynamic responses, including the impact force, cable

ASCE 04016087-9 J. Compos. Constr.

J. Compos. Constr., 04016087

 tension increment, deflection, and impact energy histories, were
closely related to the damage patterns.
A bond-type anchor with a bond length of no less than 36 times
the diameter of the wires in the CFRP strand and grouted with
128 MPa RPC can provide a CFRP strand with reliable ancho-
rage under impact. Because of this effective anchorage, different
bond lengths of no less than 150 mm had almost no influence on
the impact behaviors of the specimens.
The average transverse impact resistance of the specimens was
approximately 16 kN and was not significantly affected by pre-
tension. The specimens fractured at a cable tension of approxi-
mately 30% of the static tensile breaking load, because the
complexity of the combined action of tension, bending, and shear
effects makes CFRP strands more readily susceptible to failure.
The energy dissipation capacities for specimens with pretension
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ratios of approximately 10, 21, and 26% were 632, 727, and
902 J, respectively. A larger pretension resulted in a higher in-
itial tensile strain energy; and consequently, a smaller energy
capacity remained available for dissipation under impact, be-
cause the total energy that can be stored by a specimen before
fracture is theoretically constant.
A normalized EPD diagram was established for the design
and damage evaluation of a CFRP cable in the case of an impact
event.
Acknowledgments
This research is a part of the work carried out by grants from the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51478177)
and the Graduate Student Research Innovation Project in Hunan
Province (No. CX2011B152).
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