IRT research on influence of long-term loads on defects in FRP strengthened RC beams

Abstract

It has been more than two decades, since FRP strengthening method was first time used in Poland. Therefore there is a natural need to develop an efficient quality assessment technique to verify design assumptions of strengthening in existing structures after many years. One of the promising non-destructive method of quality assessment is infrared thermography (IRT). In this paper, an initial study on recognition of delamination mainly in CFRP laminates using IRT was conducted as well as the influence of long-term loads on defects in CFRP strengthened RC beams was presented.