PSZ 19:16 (Pind.

1/07)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS / UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT

Authors full name : Date of birth Title : :

LIM CHIH WEN 29th NOVEMBER 1984 BENDING BEHAVIOUR OF THE TIMBER BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER (FRP)

Academic Session:

2007 / 2008

I declare that this thesis is classified as :

CONFIDENTIAL RESTRICTED OPEN ACCESS

(Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)* (Contains restricted information as specified by the organisation where research was done)* I agree that my thesis to be published as online open access (full text)

I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows : 1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the purpose of research only. 3. The Library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange. Certified by :

SIGNATURE

SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR

841129-07-5553
(NEW IC NO. /PASSPORT NO.) Date : 23rd APRIL 2008

EN. YUSOF BIN AHMAD

NAME OF SUPERVISOR Date : 23rd APRIL 2008

NOTES :

If the thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, please attach with the letter from the organisation with period and reasons for confidentiality or restriction.

I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the award of the bachelor degree of Civil Engineering.

Signature Name of Supervisor Date

: : :

... En. Yusof Bin Ahmad 23 APRIL 2008

BENDING BEHAVIOUR OF THE TIMBER BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER (FRP)

LIM CHIH WEN

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Civil Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

APRIL, 2008

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I declare that this thesis entitled Bending Behaviour of the Timber Beams Strengthened with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is the results of my own research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature Name Date

: : :

LIM CHIH WEN 23 APRIL 2008

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To my beloved mother and father

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, En. Yusof Bin Ahmad, for his kind assistance and patiently guidance. Thanks you for all your time and valuable experiences that you have shared with me regarding this project.

Secondly, I want to appreciate my project partner, Mr. Lim Wei Han for being so helpful and showing his great contribution and cooperation in the completion of this project. I also want to thank my entire friends who directly or indirectly assisted me in this project.

Last but not least, sincere gratitude and appreciation is forwarded to my family for care, moral support and understanding during my four years studying in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

LIM CHIH WEN Faculty of Civil Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, construction industry is keen on finding a material to replace concrete and steel due to the increment of cost. Therefore, timber, a renewable construction material has been given more attention by researchers. The timber beam can be upgraded to increase the strength capacity by using Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bonding system. The FRP bonding system has been reported to be more effective than steel bonding system among others due to its lightweight for easy handling during construction. An experimental work was undertaken to study the bending behaviour of timber beam strengthened with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plate. Three timber beams with dimension 100 x 200 x 3000 mm were tested to failure under four point loading. One beam is used as control beam and the rest are strengthened with CFRP plate. The behaviour of the beams was studied through their load-deflection characteristic upon loading, timber and FRP strain, cracking history and mode of failure. The results showed that the strengthened beams performed better than the control beam by having lower deflection at the same load level and higher ultimate load. The percentage of increment is from 27 % to 36 %. It shows that the timber with CFRP bonding system is a suitable candidate in many structural applications, including rehabilitation and strengthening as well as the development of new wood members.

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ABSTRAK

Kini, industri pembinaan cenderung untuk mencari bahan pembinaan gantian untuk konkrit dan keluli. Kayu, bahan pembinaan yang boleh dibaharui dengan penanaman semula semakin diberi perhatian dalam kajian. Dengan penggunaan sistem penguatan Polimer Bertetulang Gentian (FRP), kayu dapat meningkatkan kekuatannya. Sistem penguatan FRP untuk kayu dan struktur adalah lebih berkesan berbanding dengan sistem penguatan meggunakan keluli dari segi kesenangan dan kemudahan membuat kerja. Kajian dijalankan dengan tujuan mengkaji kelakuan kayu yang diperkuatkan dengan plat Polimer Bertetulang Gentian Karbon (CFRP). Tiga batang rasuk padu berdimensi 100 x 200 x 3000 mm akan diuji hingga kegagalan dengan ujian pembebanan empat titik. Sebatang rasuk akan digunakan sebagai rasuk kawalan dan yang lain akan diperkuatkan dengan plat CFRP. Kelakuan kayu akan dikaji berdasarkan ciri daya-pesongan dengan pembebanan, keterikan kayu dan CFRP, serta mod kegagalan bagi rasuk kayu. Keputusan menunjukkan bahawa rasuk kayu yang diperkuatkan mempunyai beban muktamad dan kekukuhan yang lebih tinggi daripada rasuk kawalan. Peratuan pertambahan ialah di antara 27 % hingga 36 %. Kesimpulan boleh dibuat bahawa sistem penguatan kayu dengan plat CFRP adalah sesuai untuk diaplikasi dalam pembinaan dan pemulihan struktur kayu.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

DECLARATION DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT ABSTRAK TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF SYMBOLS

ii iii iv v vi vii x xii xiv

INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Introduction Problem Statement Objective Scope of Research Research Significance

1 1 3 4 4 5

LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 2.2 Introduction Timber 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 Hardwood Mechanical Properties of Timber Stress-Strain Behaviour of Timber Factors Affecting Strength of Timber

6 6 6 8 9 10 11

viii 2.2.4.1 2.2.4.2 2.2.4.3 2.2.5 2.2.6 2.2.7 2.3 Moisture Content Density Defects 11 13 13 14 16 17 19 20 20

Failure Modes of Timber Beam Timber as Structural Material Yellow Meranti

Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) 2.3.1 2.3.2 FRP as Building Material Types of FRP 2.3.2.1 2.3.2.2 2.3.3

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer(CFRP) 20 Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer(GFRP) 21 22 23 23 25 25 25 26 26 27

Mechanical Properties of FRP Sikadur -30

2.4

Adhesive 2.4.1

2.5

Past Studies 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 Research 1 Research 2 Research 3 Research 4 Research 5

METHODOLOGY 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction Flow of Overall Testing Lab Work and Testing 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 3.3.4 Moisture Content Tensile Test Parallel to Grain Tensile Test for CFRP Plate Preparation of Timber Beam Strengthened with CFRP Plate 3.3.5 Bending Capacity Test

28 28 29 31 31 33 35

38 42

ix 4 RESULT AND ANALYSIS 4.1 4.2 Introduction Result from Lab Work 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 Moisture Content Measurement of Timber Tensile Test of Timber Parallel to Grain Tensile Test for CFRP Plate Bending Capacity Test 4.2.4.1 4.2.4.2 4.2.4.3 4.2.4.4 4.2.4.5 Bending Behaviour Ultimate Load Carrying Capacity Modulus of Elasticity Stiffness Ductility Compare the Results with the Timber Beam Strengthened with GFRP rod 4.2.5 Mode of Failure 59 61 45 45 46 46 48 50 52 52 56 57 58

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 5.2 Conclusions Suggestions

65 65 66 68

REFERENCES

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO.

TITLE

PAGE

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

The strength/density ratio for some structural materials The strength group of timber Wey grade of timber (N/mm2), moisture content > 19% Mechanical properties of CFRP, GFRP and mild steel Qualitative comparison between carbon fibers and E-glass Characteristic of Sikadur -30 Dimensions of test pieces (unit: mm) Information of the timber beams Initial moisture content of timber beams

17 18 19 22 23 24 36 39 47

Moisture content of timber beams after four-point loading test 48 Elastic modulus of the timber samples Elastic modulus of the CFRP samples Comparison of strength increase over control beam for strengthened beams 56 50 52

4.6

Comparison between unstrengthened modulus of elasticity and strengthened modulus of elasticity

57

xi 4.7 Comparison between the ductility of control beam and the ductility of strengthened beams Comparison of strength increase over control beam for beams strengthened with GFRP rods 4.9 60

58

4.8

Comparison between unstrengthened modulus of elasticity and strengthened modulus of elasticity with GFRP rods 60 Comparison between the ductility of control beam and the ductility of beams strengthened with GFRP rods 61 62

4.10

4.11

Mode of failure for all tested beam

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO.

TITLE

PAGE

2.1 2.2 2.3

Typical cross section of tree Stress-strain relationship for timber Relationship between longitudinal compressive strength and moisture content

7 10

12 15 30 32 32 32 34 34 35 36 37 38

2.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10

Failure of beam Flow Chart of Overall Testing Sample for moisture content Air jet use to remove dust Oven-dry Test piece for tension Parallel to grain test Sample for tensile test Tensile test with Machine Dartec Shape of test pieces Sample of CFRP for tensile CFRP samples in Machine Dartec

xiii 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sikadur -30 Cross section for beam strengthened with CFRP plate Timber beams strengthened with CFRP plates Position of the strain gauge Standard set up for bending Real setting during lab testing Machine of data recording system Display screen of data recording system Stress strain curves for all timber samples tested Stress strain curves for all CFRP plate samples tested Load-deflection curve for control beam (Beam 18) Load-deflection curve for beam strengthen with CFRP plate S2512 4.5 Load-deflection curve for beam strengthen with CFRP plate S3014 4.6 4.7 Load-deflection curves for all tested beams Load-deflection curves for all beams strengthened with GFRP rods 4.8 4.9 4.10 Failure modes for beam Failure modes for beam 29 Failure modes for beam 15 59 63 63 64 54 55 54 39 40 41 41 43 43 44 44 49 51 53

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LIST OF SYMBOLS

P ft ffu A Ar t w a h

Maximum applied load Tensile stress of timber Tensile stress of CFRP plate Minimum area of cross-section of test length Ratio of cross section between CFRP plate and timber beam Thickness of CFRP plate Width of CFRP plate Half of shear span Height of timber beam Maximum strain Maximum stress Modulus of elasticity of the beam Maximum elongation

max max
E dmax

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction

Timber is one of the earliest materials used in construction. Human use it to construct houses, bridges and many other structural buildings. It is the most popular building material before the emergence of modern structural material such as concrete and steel due to its high strength to weight ratio (Marco Corradi and Antonio Borri, 2006). The timber is easy to mobilize and construct (cut, nailed, bolted and level). It does not require any fabrication of formwork and curing time like concrete do. Therefore, using timber in the construction can reduce the use of heavy machinery, shorten the construction period and save up construction cost. Beside that, timber can resist oxidation, acid, saltwater and other corrosion agents (Regis B. Miller, 1999).

However, timber has some drawbacks in its usefulness in construction. Problems such as design failure, insect attack, rot, decay, weathering and mechanical damage will occur during the design life of the structure. Timber by nature is a very inhomogeneous building material (Regis B. Miller, 1999). Unlike the steel and concrete, the material properties of timber cannot be designed or produced according to the recipe. Their material properties are very much depend on factors such as the age, the diameter of the timber logs, the number of knots, the orientation of timber grain and the moisture content (Frederick F. Wangaard, 1950). Even the timbers

taken out from the same log will have different degree of strength. This will increase the difficulty in design of the structure. Furthermore, some timber may require pretreatment before they can be used for construction. All these factors have affected the marketability of the timber in the construction industry.

Therefore, methods or techniques to overcome these disadvantages are developed. One of the most popular methods to do so is reinforcing the timber with the use of other material such as steel. However, steel corrosion will deteriorate the loading capacity of the strengthen timber. Therefore, in recent years, the increased availability and reduced cost of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) material has stimulated increased research into strengthening timber structures (Chris Gentile, Dagmar Svecova, and Sami H. Rizkalla, 2002). FRP is formerly developed for the aerospace industry but now is becoming more widely used in the construction industry. Its high strength to weight ratio and good durability has made it suitable to replace steel in strengthening the timber beam (Ted W. Buell and Hamid Saadatmanesh, 2005). It can be used either to enhance flexural and shear strength of existing structures or decrease the size of new structures for the given required strength. FRP reinforcement is bonded to the surface of timber with the used of adhesive, generally epoxy resin. The most commonly used fibre types are glass (GFRP) and carbon (CFRP).

The main focus of this research is to determine the effectiveness of FRP to strengthen and increase loading capacity of the timber beam. Several tests will be conducted with different arrangement of the FRP reinforcement to determine the most effective way to strengthen the timber beam. Timber beam without any reinforcement is used as a control beam for the comparison.

1.2

Problem Statement

Nowadays, due to high demand, the prices of cement and steel have increased drastically. Many researchers are looking for an alternative material to replace concrete and steel as building materials. One of the options is timber. The used of timber as a building material has a long history. However, due to the inhomogeneous material properties, limited capacity and vulnerable towards insect attack, the usage of timber as building material has decrease. The concrete and steel are subsequently replace the timber to become the main material in construction.

However, with the progressive technology development, several methods and techniques are suggested to overcome the drawbacks in the used of timber as building materials. Reinforcing the timber beam with other material is one of the popular methods. In the early stage of development, steel has been used to strengthen the timber beam. The steel plate is bonded to the tension surface in order to pre-stress the wood. This will increase the bending and shear capacity of the beam (Chris Gentile, Dagmar Svecova, and Sami H. Rizkalla, 2002). However, there are some mechanical limitations for the use of steel as timber reinforcement such as: Heavy weight that will increase the transportation cost and the difficulty of installation. High thermal conductivity that might create problem in case of fire. Oxidation which will make the steel rusty.

Therefore, innovative techniques by employing FRP glued-in with resin to replace steel as the reinforcement offer more benefits. It has high strength to weight ratio and good durability. Furthermore, it is free from oxidation. The use of

composite material in wood reinforcement was first proposed in the 1980s by Meier, Triantafillou, Triantafillou and Plevris, Kropf and Meierhofer, Gentile et al., Borri et al., who applied composites based on glass (GFRP) or carbon fibre sheets (CFRP)

epoxy-bonded externally on the tension zones and studied their effect on the mechanical characteristics (Marco Corradi and Antonio Borri, 2006).

However, wood technology in Malaysia is still left behind if compare with the advance country such as US and Japan. Researchers in Malaysia are lack of interest in developing new wood technologies. Thus, hopefully this research can give some contribution to the development of wood technology in Malaysia and help increase the popularity of using the timber beam in the local construction industry.

1.3

Objectives of Research

The objectives of this research are: i. To determine whether FRP strengthening increase the stiffness and bending strength of the timber beams. ii. iii. iv. To study the ductility of timber beams strengthen with FRP. To study the failure mode of the timber beams strengthened with FRP. To determine the most suitable material and technique in the strengthening of the timber beams.

1.4

Scope of Research

The main focus for this research is to analysis the bending behaviour of timber beam strengthen with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plate. Therefore, timber beams and CFRP plates are the main materials being used. For the

type of timber, Yellow Meranti is selected to use in this research. The adhesive used for this research is Sikadur 30. Furthermore, the test results of this research will be compared with the results from the experimental work done by Lim Wei Han (2008) using GFRP bars to strengthen the timber beam.

1.5

Research Significance

Generally, the strengthening technique developed in this research will increase the overall strength and stiffness of timber beam. Moreover, effective strengthening technique can reduce the size of beam while increase their strength, thereby creating a more efficient use of timber supply. This technique is suitable for both new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures. For existing timber structure, this strengthen techniques may save the cost of replacing the structure by allowing it to withstand higher loads.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1

Introduction

Through out history, the unique characteristic and comparative abundance of wood have made it a natural material for homes and other structures, furniture, tools, vehicles and decorative object. Although concrete and steel have replace timber as main construction materials, it is still prized for a multitude of uses.

Modern technology has help improve the natural characteristic and loading capacity of timber, make it more useful in the construction industry. Reinforcing the timber beam with FRP is one of the methods to do so. By bonding the FRP plate or rod in the tension surface of the timber beam with adhesive such as epoxy, its bending strength and stiffness will gradually increase.

2.2

Timber

Malaysia has more than 2500 species of wood, but only 10% are suitable to be used as construction material. Timber is primarily composed of hollow, elongate,

spindle-shaped cells that are arranged parallel to each other along the trunk of the tree. When the lumber is cut from the tree, the characteristic and arrangement of these fibrous cells will affect its properties such as the strength, shrinkage and the grain pattern. A typical cross section of a tree is shown in Figure 2.1.

Basically, tree can be divided into two broad classes: hardwood and softwood. The term hardwood and softwood do not stand for the hardness or density of the timber. It is just refer to the botanical origin of the particular plant. Some softwood is actually harder than some hardwood. The easiest way to differentiate these two categories is trees with broad leaves are hardwoods and trees with needle like leaves are softwoods.

Figure 2.1: Typical cross section of tree (Regis B. Miller, 1999) (A) (B) Outer bark Inner bark - dry dead tissue served as a protective coating - living tissues which carries food from the leaves to the other part of the tree (C) Cambium - microscopic layer inside the inner bark where new timber and bark cells are formed

(D)

Sapwood

- light in colour, functioned to carry sap from the roots to the leaves

(E)

Heartwood

- dark in colour, formed by a gradual change in sapwood and is inactive in the tree

(F) (G)

Pith Wood rays

- it is where new timber growth for twigs take place - connect the various part of the tree for the storage and movement of food

2.2.1

Hardwood

Most of the timbers in Malaysia are hardwood and basically hardwood has better strength and durability compare with softwood. Sawn section of hardwoods is relatively free from knots, wane and fairly straight grain. However, it has the tendency to distort and crack. The Forest Department of Malaysia has classified hardwoods in Malaysia into three groups according to the density and durability of the woods. The durability of the wood will decrease if the density decreases.

The classification is done under the Peraturan Penggredan Malaysia (1984): Heavy Hardwood for density more than 880 kg/m3 Medium Hardwood for density from 720 kg/m3 to 880 kg/m3 Light Hardwood for density less than 720 kg/m3

2.2.2

Mechanical Properties of Timber

Mechanical properties of timber most commonly measured and represented as strength properties for design purposes. This research is intended to improve the strength and load capacity of timber by strengthening it with FRP.

The following are some common properties used to measure the wood (Regis B. Miller, 1999): Modulus of rupture It reflects the maximum load carrying capacity of a member in bending and is proportional to maximum moment carried by the specimen. The assumption made in the calculation is that the timber behaves elastically. Work to maximum load in bending It reflects the ability to absorb shock with some permanent deformation and more or less injury to a specimen. Work to maximum load is a measure of the combined strength and toughness of wood under bending stresses. Compressive strength parallel to grain Maximum stress sustained by a compression parallel-to-grain specimen having a ratio of length to least dimension of less than 11. Compressive stress perpendicular to grain It is reported as stress at proportional limit. There is no clearly defined ultimate stress for this property. Tensile strength parallel to grain Maximum tensile stress sustained in direction parallel to grain. In the absence of sufficient tension test data, modulus of rupture values are sometimes substituted for tensile strength of small, clear, straight

10

grained pieces of wood. The modulus of rupture is considered to be a low or conservative estimate of tensile strength for clears specimens. Tensile strength perpendicular to grain Resistance of wood to forces acting across the grain that tends to split a member. Values presented are the average of radial and tangential observations. Shear strength parallel to grain It is an ability to resist internal slipping of one part upon another along the grain. Generally, the shear strength of timber can be classified into two types: shear strength parallel to grain and shear strength perpendicular to grain. Values presented are average strength in radial and tangential shear planes.

2.2.3

Stress-Strain Behaviour of Timber

Figure 2.2: Stress-strain relationship for timber (Buchanan, 1990)

Typical stress-strain relationship for timber is shown in Figure: 2.2. When timber is tested to failure under axial tension, the stress-strain relationship is linear up to maximum load and the timber will fail in brittle tension. In axial compression,