Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tast20

Bond behavior between near-surface mounted

fiber reinforced polymer strips and concrete using
nonlinear finite element: a parametric study

Rami Haddad & Emad Al-Rabadi

To cite this article: Rami Haddad & Emad Al-Rabadi (2020): Bond behavior between near-surface
mounted fiber reinforced polymer strips and concrete using nonlinear finite element: a parametric
study, Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01694243.2020.1852777

Published online: 07 Dec 2020.

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JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
https://doi.org/10.1080/01694243.2020.1852777

Bond behavior between near-surface mounted fiber

reinforced polymer strips and concrete using nonlinear
finite element: a parametric study
Rami Haddad and Emad Al-Rabadi
Department of Civil Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

A nonlinear finite element (NLFE) model is proposed to predict Received 3 August 2020
the bond behavior between concrete and near-surface mounted Revised 13 November 2020
(NSM) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP). The model is validated, Accepted 13 November 2020
based on the results from an experimental program carried out
KEYWORDS
by the present authors, before being employed to generate a NLFE; bond behavior;
wide range of data considering key parameters, such as grooves concrete; FRP; near-surface
spacing (50–200 mm), and embedment length (50–300 mm), and mounted (NSM);
fiber type (basalt and carbon) of the NSM FRP strips as well as concrete’s strength
concrete’s strength (25–55 MPa). The impact of steel reinforce-
ment is also evaluated. The findings demonstrate a significant
impact of NSM FRP strips’ type, embedment length, and grooves’
spacing on bond behavior. The higher-strength grade for concrete
imparted noticeable improvements in bond characteristics,
whereas the presence of steel reinforcement seems to enhance
the pull-out force slightly by as much as 15% yet reduce bond
ductility. The NLFE cracking patterns are used to help understand
the influence of different parameters on bond failure mode
between the NSM FRP strips and concrete.

1. Introduction
Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRP) has been increasingly used in the repair of modern
as well as ancient structures susceptible to collapse. The FRP composites were used in
two main forms (sheets and plates) for the repair of flexural and compression members
with a reasonable efficiency; frequently undermined by their premature bond failure.
This occurs due to concrete cover separation, intermediate and/or end interfacial
detachment, triggered by the formation of flexural or flexural-shear cracks [1–4].
To overcome the problem of premature bond failure, the Near-Surface Mounted
Retrofit (NSMR) method has been advised recently as a substitute repair method of
externally bonded FRP composites (EB FRP) [5–9]. Its application goes through several
main steps implemented in the following sequence: creating grooves on the surface of
the element to be strengthened, cleaning of grooves with compressed air or water
under pressure, drying without using bond inhibiting substances, applying the correct

CONTACT Rami Haddad rhaddad@just.edu.jo Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030,
22110, Irbid, Jordan
ß 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

adhesive in the grooves, and finally pressing the already cut FRP strips into the groove
with excess adhesive squeezed out to cover the exterior edge of the strips. NSM FRP
strips possess several key advantages over EB FRP composites [1–4,10–20]. First, their
application requires creating grooves without the need for removing degraded surface
or smoothing the surface for irregularity. Second, the strips are less prone to premature
detachment because of their larger bonded area, allowing, therefore, more efficient use
of the reinforcement material. Third, NSM FRP strips can be easily extended to the
adjacent elements. Fourth, they are better protected against external aggressive agents
or acts of vandalism. Last, their implementation in structural elements has a smaller
visual impact. Regardless of these benefits, the limited size of data available so far about
the NSM CFRP strips bond behavior with concrete makes it difficult to establish solid
guidelines for repair design with this composite.
Since it was proposed as a repair material, different research attempts were made to
investigate the key factors or durability aspects that influence NSM CFRP strips bond
to concrete [10–20]. The earlier attempts were made during the first decade of this mil-
lennium [10–13]. Lorenzis et al. were among the few who used C-shape concrete block
with a square groove in the middle to study the bond behavior of NSM FRP rods hav-
ing varying diameters and surface characteristics [10]. In contrast, Ali et al. used push-
pull test specimens for the development of an empirical formula for computing bond
force [11]. Later, Seracino et al. carried out bond tests on both NSM FRP strips and
EBFRP composites to establish the advantage of the former composites for repair tech-
niques [12,13]. In a comprehensive study by Seo et al. [14], the bond behavior between
NSM Carbon FRP (CFRP) strips and concrete was experimentally studied and com-
pared to that between EB FRP and concrete. Pull-off specimens were prepared using
NSM CFRP strips of different numbers and embedment lengths before tested for bond
stress versus slippage. Parallel pull-off specimens were prepared using EB FRP compo-
sites of similar bond area. The results showed that bond strengths between concrete
and NSM CFRP strips were 1.5 times of those with EB FRP. Other researchers demon-
strated the benefit of using rough instead of smooth texture for the NSM CFRP strips
upon enhancing its bond to concrete [15]. In the same year, the impact of long-term
exposure to wetting-drying cycles upon the bond between NSM CFRP strips and con-
crete was investigated in conjunction with the effect of the groove width and depth,
[16]. The degradation extent of bond strength due to this treatment was affected by the
groove geometric characteristics. During the years (2017–2018) the experimental and
the FEM modeling works by Zhang and others showed that expanding groove pacing
and the concrete edge distance have a positive impact on enhancing bond force per
strip in a parabolic manner within the limits of the corresponding critical values
beyond which the bond force remains constant [17,18]. Most recently, the combined
effect of exposure to temperature, humidity, and sustained load (for about 1000 h)
upon the bond between NSM CFRP strips and concrete was studied [19]. It was
observed that maintaining a sustained load at 50% of the ultimate load capacity of the
single-lap shear test specimens results in a significant increase in the slippage value
under normal temperature and humidity conditions yet causes an imminent bond fail-
ure under a temperature of 40
C and relative humidity of 90% [19]. In parallel, Cruz
et al. showed that stiff and flexible adhesives have a different impact on the bond of
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 3

NSM CFRP strips to concrete, [20]. Stiff adhesives imparted higher pullout forces of
the single-lap shear test specimens whereas flexible ones contributed to enhanced bond
ductility. Finally, the impact of the exposure to elevated temperatures of up to 270
C
upon the bond between NSM CFRP strips and concrete was investigated [21,22]. The
results revealed that bond behavior is highly dependent on whether exposure tempera-
ture is below or greater than the glass transition zone temperatures for the NSM CFRP
strips and their adhesives [21,22].
Evaluating the performance of NSM CFRP strengthened elements for a wide range
of parameters that require time, effort, and money. Modeling based on limited but
well-designed experiments may be the solution. Nonlinear finite element (NLFE) mod-
eling in 2 D and 3 D has been utilized over the past twenty years or so to generate a siz-
able amount of data for varying repair cases within a reasonable period and a reduced
cost [23–34]. This included two-span and single-span beams, strengthened for flexural,
shear, and torsion using EBFRP composites [23–27]. Earlier attempts for flexural mod-
eling of concrete beams, strengthened with pre-stressed EBFRP laminates were made
using NLFE [28]. Hawileh et al. [24,29,30] successfully utilized NLFE for modeling
reinforced concrete beams, externally strengthened with NSM FRP rods, side-
laminates, or short-length CFRP plates, to investigate key parameters such as concrete
strength, FRP type, and steel reinforcement ratio upon repair efficiency. Nawaz et al.
[31] evaluated the contribution of longitudinal bond CFRP plates upon shear strength
of reinforced concrete beams by NLFE modeling. Crack formation leading to failure of
double-sided concrete corbels, internally reinforced with GFRP bars, was simulated by
Abu-Obaida et al. using NLFE [32]. The contribution of different configurations of U-
wrap with CFRP sheets as an anchorage system in reinforced concrete beams, strength-
ened at their tension side using CFRP sheets, was determined using NLFE modeling
[33]. Others evaluated the potential of recovering shear and flexural performance of
beams, after exposure to elevated temperatures using NLFE modeling with degradation
in mechanical properties of the concrete and the steel materials assessed according to
the Euro code [34–37]. The lead author of this work and another were able to model
shear deficient and sulfate-damaged beams using the NLFE method and expand predic-
tion beyond their experimental findings [38]. In these published works, the authors
adopted one of two approaches to tackle the problem of bond between the composites
and concrete. For example, Zhang et al. [26] assumed perfect bond between EBFRP
composites and concrete whereas others considered imperfect bond; hence, provided a
certain simulation of the crack open mode using spring elements or fine meshes but
stopped short of representing actual crack initiation and propagation [28,29].

2. Problem statement, objectives, and scope

Most up-to-date literature works have tackled the impact of a limited number of key
geometric parameters in single studies upon bond behavior between NSM CFRP strips
and concrete. The effect of the reinforcement ratio and distribution (key factor) was
overlooked, [16–22]. For this, an NLFE model is proposed and validated before being
used to predict bond behavior for various combinations of key factors. These are steel
reinforcement distribution, concrete strength grade (25–55 MPa), the spacing between
4 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

NSM CFRP strips, embedment length (50–300 mm), and elastic modulus of the strips.
The validation of the NLFE model relied upon the experimental data from a compre-
hensive testing program, implemented by the present authors [39].

3. Experimental work: an overview

The present NLFE model proposed was validated using experimental data from the
thesis of the coauthor of this work [39]. Plain and reinforced concrete block measuring
(150  200  200 mm3) were prepared using normal and high strength limestone con-
crete mixtures at a compressive strength in the range of (37–56) MPa before water
cured for 28 days. The blocks were reinforced with 3/14 mm (Grade-60) longitudinal
bars at the surface (to be bonded to the NSM CFRP) with 2/14 mm used at the oppos-
ite one. These are held in position using 2–3 /8 mm (Grade-40) closed stirrups distrib-
uted along the bond length. Two additional stirrups were used at both ends of bars
beyond the attachment zone for the NSM FRP strips. The spacing (SS) between the two
and three stirrups were (SS ¼ Lf/2) and (SS ¼ Lf/3), respectively; Lf being the bond
length of the NSM CFRP strip. Figure 1 shows the schematics of the reinforcement lay-
out relative to the bond length of NSM FRP strips. Normal and high strength concrete
mixtures were proportioned using coarse and fine limestone aggregates with Type I
Portland cement. A commercial superplasticizer was used to improve workability. Mix
proportions are presented in Table 1.
Man-made grooves were created within the hardened concrete cover above the steel-
reinforced side at two different spacing values along the bond length. After cleaning and

(A)

(B)

Figure 1. Detailing of longitudinal and transverse steel distribution on the bonded surface.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 5

Table 1. Proportions of different ingredients of concrete mixtures.

Material (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
Cement 370 529
Coarse aggregate A 603 603
Coarse aggregate B 402 402
Fine aggregate 667 574
Water 231 216
Super plasticizer 2% 3%
0
fc 36.1 MPa 53.8 MPa

Figure 2. Detailing of pull-off specimens affixed to the specially designed steel setup.

drying, the grooves were filled with the SIKA epoxy before the CFRP strips
(2.5  15 mm2) were inserted. The epoxy was extended to cover the exterior edges of the
strips. The adhesive thickness averaged at 1.75 mm on either side of the strips and 5 mm
on their interior and exterior edges. The mechanical properties of the NSM CFRP strips,
as provided by the manufacturers, namely ultimate tensile strength and elasticity modulus
were 3.1 and 165 GPa, respectively, with their Poisson’s ratio assumed at 0.30. The pull-
off specimens were tested for a bond stress-slip relationship using the specially designed
setup of Figure 2. This was mounted on a universal testing machine to pull out the NSM
CFRP strips at a constant displacement rate of 0.06 mm/sec.
6 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

4. NLFE modeling
Properties for the different components of the pull-out specimens were obtained
experimentally or used as provided by the manufacturer. Proper FE elements were
chosen to represent steel reinforcement, concrete, adhesive, and NSM FRP strips.
Boundary conditions were expressed in terms of displacements in x, y, and z directions
based upon the restraints imposed by the pullout setup. Displacement control model-
ing was imposed on a 10-mm constant-size mesh.

4.1. Modeling of material

4.1.1. Concrete
The behavior of concrete was simulated using a plastic damage model which assumes
that the main failure mechanisms are tensile cracking or compressive crushing. Tensile
cracking is described by the softening part of the tension curve via concrete, depicted
in the curve of Figure 3. The terms for the parameters shown on the latter curve are
defined by Equations (1) and (2) [40,41].
qffiffiffiffi
fct ¼ ð0:67 ! 1Þ fc0 (1)

 0 0:7
f
Gft ¼ ½0:0469D2 0:50D þ 26 c (2)
10

fct and Gft are the tensile strength and fracture energy of concrete, whereas D (mm)
0
and fc (MPa) are the maximum aggregate size and the cylinder compressive strength of
concrete, respectively.
The compressive cracking is characterized by the compressive stress-strain curve for
concrete, proposed by Saenz [42] and given by Equation (3). Accordingly, the correspond-
ing trend behaviors of the two strength grades (considered in the experimental study) are
depicted by the curves of Figure 4. A typical strain value of 0.0025 was assumed for all the
concrete classes considered in the present work.

Figure 3. A bilinear softening curve for tensile stress versus crack opening width for concrete.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 7

E C  ƐC
r¼    2  3 (3)
1 þ ðR þ RE  2Þ eeC0  ð2R  1Þ eeC0 þ R eeC0

8
>
> RE ðR0  1Þ 1
>
<R ¼ 
ðRe  1Þ2 Re
Where 0
>
> E f
>
: RE ¼
C
; E0 ¼ c
E0 e0

According to reported literature, the values for Re , RE , and e0 are set as follows
[38]:

Re ¼ 4; RE ¼ 4
e0 ¼ 0:0025

4.1.2. Steel reinforcement

The reinforcing steel was modeled as an elastic-plastic with main parameters defined in
Figure 5 namely, elastic modulus, Es, yield stress, fy, and Poisson’s ratio, . These were
experimentally obtained for the different sizes of steel bars before listed in Table 2.

60

50
30 MPa
40 56.5 MPa
Stress MPa

30

20

10

Strain (m/m)
Figure 4. The stress-strain relationship for concrete proposed by Saenz [42].

Figure 5. Elastic-plastic stress-strain curve for the reinforcement steel.

8 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

Table 2. Actual versus predicted poll-off force for different parameters.

0
Specimen Type fC (MPa) Lf (mm) FN SN SS mm Ct (mm) EPOF (kN) FPOF (kN) Error%
1 37.3 50 2 2 25 30 8.698 8.876 2
2 51.2 150 2 4 50 25 31.94 31.97 0.09
3 56.5 100 2 2 50 25 20.11 19.85 1.3
4 30 150 2 Plain NA NA 23.67 24.38 3.9
5 37.3 150 2 Plain NA NA 25.75 25.33 1.6
0
fC : Concrete strength; Lf : Length of FRP strip EPOF: experimental pull-out force from; FPOF: finite element pull-out
force; FN : number of FRP strips; SN : number of steel stirrups along the bond length; SS : spacing between steel stir-
rups along the bond length; Ct : concrete cover thickness.

4.1.3. NSM CFRP strips and adhesive

NSM CFRP strips and their adhesive are assumed to behave as elastic materials. Their
corresponding elastic modulus (E) and Poisson’s ratio (t) were provided by SIKA at
(165 and 10 GPa), and (0.3 and 0.2), respectively.

4.1.4. Interaction between different components

Perfect bond was assumed between the reinforcing steel and concrete. The inter-
action between concrete and steel reinforcement was simulated as an embedded
region where concrete and reinforcing steel being the host and embedment,
respectively. Similarly, the interaction between the NSM CFRP strips and adhesive
was simulated as a tie interaction with the adhesive and NSM CFRP strips being
the master and the slave surfaces, respectively. These interactions were already
defined in the ABQUS software. Finally, the interaction between concrete and
adhesive was simulated as surface-to-surface contact (standard). The properties of
this interaction were defined as damage and cohesive behaviors. The damage
caused by tensile stresses is quantified by the area underneath the curve of Figure
3, defined in terms of normal tensile concrete strength of Equation 1 [43] and the
crack mouth opening ðwÞ: This is related to tensile fracture energy through
Equation 2. The corresponding damage parameters (ultimate shearing stress (smax )
and shear fracture energy (Gf )) were developed by Zhang et al. [44] and given by
Equations 4 and 5, respectively. These were developed based upon the relationship
between shearing stress and effective opening displacement, proposed by
Benzeggagh and Kenane according to the curve of Figure 6 [45]. Finally, the inter-
action cohesive behavior was defined according to the interface shear stiffness coef-
ficients (Kss and Ktt ) of Equation (6), developed by Lu et al. [46]. The normal
stiffness coefficient (Knn ) was estimated based upon the instructions manual by
ABOQUS software.
0
smax ¼ 1:15c0:138  fc 0:613 (4)

0
Gf ¼ 0:45c0:422  fc 0:619 (5)
0
where c is the groove height-to-width ratio, and fc is the concrete compressive strength
in MPa
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 9

Figure 6. Bilinear traction-separation constitutive law [45].

1
Ktt ¼ Kss ¼ ; Knn ¼ 2Ktt (6)
hi
Gi þ Gc
hc

Where hi is the adhesive thickness, hc is the concrete thickness, and Gi and Gc are
the shear modulus of adhesive and concrete respectively.

4.1.5. NLFE mesh configuration

Different elements were used for the various components of the pull-out specimens.
Concrete was treated as a solid homogenous. Therefore, a 3D stress element was used
to simulate its behavior. A truss element was used to simulate the behavior of the steel
reinforcement in the concrete blocks. NSM CFRP strips and its adhesive were treated
as solid homogenous elements with 3D stress elements used to simulate their behav-
iors. A constant-mesh element of 10-mm size was used in the entire study, as depicted
in Figure 7(A). The boundary conditions for the problem are shown in Figure 7(B).

5. Validation of the NLFE model

The proposed NLFE model was validated using the experimental results by Al-Rabadi
[24], obtained from direct testing of plain and reinforced concrete pull-out specimens
using the setup of Figure 2. The validation process considered pull-out forces and
cracking propagation leading to bond failure modes. Table 2 illustrates that the error
in predicting pull-out force ranges from as low as 0.1% to as high as 3.9%. As noticed,
the prediction error was not affected by the presence of stirrups reinforcement or their
distribution across the bond length of the NSM FRP strips. The cracking patterns until
failure were generated using the present NLFE model (including cracking initiation
and propagation) as shown in the photos of Figure 8 (left). This sequence of cracking
leading to the bond failure was experimentally supported, shown in Figure 8 (right).
Both the NLFE and the experimental photos indicate that the cracking of concrete is
triggered first in the vicinity of the pulled-out end of the NSM CFRP strip then at the
termination end of the strip as the load is increased until bond failure by either full
separation of the strips or concrete peeling-off.
The present analysis shows that the cracking initiation and progression were mainly
affected by the bond length of the NSM CFRP strips with a minor impact of reinforce-
ment presence or compressive strength grade. The NLFE cracking patterns for
10 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

= 0 (Middle Strip)
Y Y

Z
X
Z
X Front view

Y
Z
Z =0
X
Y X

Back view Boom view

Figure 7. Mesh configuration and boundary conditions for the present pull-out specimen.

specimens of Types 1 and 4 are shown in Figures 9 and 10. As noticed, cracks were
developed in the vicinity of the pull-out end of the NSM CFRP strips before it
appeared, with load increase, at the termination point of the strips. Before the failure,
cracks spread in concrete along the full 50-mm bond length causing detachment of the
concrete cover. A different cracking sequence was noticed for Type 4 specimens.
Concrete cracked first in the vicinity of the pull-out end of the strips before it cracked
at the termination end of the bond length without spreading along the NSM CFRP
strips’ length, leading ultimately to pull-out failure of the strips. The failure scenarios
described underpin the cracking formation and propagation noticed during the actual
testing of these specimens.

6. Results and discussion

The present validated NLFE model was employed to generate data for various key
parameters, namely compressive strength, NSM CFRP strips’ number, bond length,
and modulus of elasticity. Furthermore, the impact of steel presence on bond behavior
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 11

Specimen Type 1

Specimen Type 2

Specimen Type 3

Specimen Type 4

Specimen Type 5

Figure 8. Experimental versus NLFE failure modes for the different types of specimens used in the
validation process.

is established. The data is presented as a load versus slippage curves and through bond
failure mode. Detailed discussions about the effect of each parameter are pre-
sented next.

6.1. Compressive strength

The bond behavior between NSM CFRP strips and reinforced or plain concrete blocks
was studied for different strength grades of concrete in the range of 25–55 MPa. NLFE
results were generated for pull-out specimens with 2 NSM CFRP strips, extended into
the concrete at two different embedment lengths of 150 and 100 mm. The curves of
Figures 11 show that the pull-out force (POF) was noticeably increased as the strength
12 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

Figure 9. Crack progression in Type 1 specimens in terms of violated stress trajecto-

0
ries ðfc ¼ 25 MPa; LF ¼ 50 mm; FN ¼ 2; SS ¼ 25 mmÞ:

grade of the concrete was promoted. This effect is clearer for the specimens prepared
with steel reinforcement at higher embedment lengths. For example, using concrete at
a strength grade of 55 instead of 25 MPa contributed to an increase in POF at 47% for
steel-reinforced specimens (bonded to NSM CFRP strips at a bond length of 150 mm)
as compared to 33% for identical plain specimens. The corresponding percentages for
specimens prepared at a bond length of 100 mm were 36 and 32%, respectively.
Figure 11 indicate that the contribution of reinforcement to improving bond resistance
and increasing bond ductility (slip at failure) between the strips and concrete is
improved as the bond length of the strips is increased.

6.2. Effect of groove spacing

The impact of groove spacing on bond behavior between the NSM CFRP strips and
plain concrete, made of two different strength grades, is depicted in the curves of
Figure 12. As expected, the highest POF is transferred by 4 strips (50-mm groove spac-
ing) followed, in sequence, by 2 and 1 strip (100 and 200 mm groove spacing), respect-
ively. Of course, using a higher number of strips is more efficient in enhancing POF,
especially when strips are inserted at higher bond lengths into concretes of enhanced
strength grades. For example, the POF for specimens cast with 25 MPa grade concrete
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 13

Figure 10. Crack progression in Type 4 specimens in terms of violated stress trajecto-
0
ries ðfc ¼ 45 MPa; LF ¼ 150 mm; FN ¼ 2; PCÞ:

and attached to different numbers of NSM CFRP strips (4, 2, and 1) at embedment
lengths of 150 and 100 mm attained (46.8, 45.3, and 29.7 kN) and (30.1, 27.6, and
17.6 kN), respectively. Using a higher compressive strength at 55 MPa contributed an
increase in the POF for the different pull-out specimens by (40–45%). The curves of
Figure 12 indicate a noticeable increase in bond stiffness yet a decrease in bond ductil-
ity as the number of strips was increased (groove spacing reduced) and vice versa. The
increase in contact area with concrete for the higher number of NSM CFRP strips led
to an increase in POF and bond stiffness yet a decrease in bond ductility (less slippage
at failure). It is evident that the changes in the bond characteristics versus the number
of NSM CFRP strips are not linearly proportional.
To help explain the above behavior, the POF for the studied pull-out specimens
was computed per strip, as listed in Table 3. Results indicate that the POF per strip
enhances drastically as the groove spacing is increased from 50 to 100 mm beyond
which the rate of increase is noticeably decreased. This behavior is supported by a
previous research work, which showed that beyond certain groove spacing, the bond
force becomes almost constant, owing to the reduced impact or absence of strip-strip
interaction [16–18]. It was evident that for a constant groove width, higher bond
lengths contribute more to strip-strip interaction and hence, the reduction of bond
force per strip [16]. The cracking patterns of Figure 13 reflect the interaction effect
14 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

Figure 11. Pull-out force versus end slip between concrete and NSM CFRP prepared at varying
strength concrete blocks without and with stirrup reinforcement.

between stresses generated by strip spaced at relatively low distances. This leads usu-
ally to modify the mode of bond failure from pull-out of the strips to concrete
cover separation.

6.3. Effect of bond length

To study the impact of a wide range of bond lengths for the NSM CFRP strips upon
bond characteristics, mesh configurations were established for concrete blocks having a
length of 400 mm instead of 200 mm with the cross-section maintained the same. The
assumption for the specimens’ boundary conditions, types of NLFE elements of differ-
ent components, and mesh size were kept unchanged. Accordingly, the impact of bond
length in the range of 50–300 mm upon bond stress-slip relationship was established
for the pull-out specimens, assembled using plain concrete blocks of two strength
grades (25 and 55 MPa) and 2 NSM CFRP strips. Results of the curves of Figure 14
support published works concerning the contribution of higher bond length upon POF
and bond ductility up till a critical value beyond which the POF increase is combined
with degradation in bond ductility, [2]. To determine this critical value for the pre-
sented data, the average bond strength (BS) along a single NSM CFRP strip is depicted
considering three strength grades of concrete (25, 40, and 55 MPa) as shown in
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 15

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

Figure 12. Pull-out force versus end-slip between plain concrete (PC) of varying number of NSM
CFRP strips symmetrically distributed around force axis.

Table 3. NLFE bond force per strip (kN) for pullout specimen with different concrete strength,
groove spacing and NSM FRP embedment lengths.
0 0
fC ¼ 25 MPa fC ¼ 55 MPa
Groove Spacing (mm) 150 mm 100 mm 150 mm 100 mm
200 29.7 17.5 42.2 25.4
100 22.7 13.8 31.9 19.5
50 11.7 7.6 22.2 10.7

Figure 15. The BS was computed as the force per strip divided by the strip’s surface.
Corresponding curves increase against bond length until a critical value before it shows
a plateau or a decreasing trend. This value is stipulated as the development length for
the NSM CFRP strips which is estimated at 175, 200, and 200 mm for the pull-out
specimens with concrete strength grades of 55, 40, and 25, respectively. These results
support the validity of the present model in that the development length was lower for
specimens with higher strength grades and vice versa.
The normal stress in the NSM CFRP strips along its bond length explains the
reduction in bond strength and corresponding slippage for embedment lengths
greater than the development length. The normal stresses and their residuals were
obtained for the same key parameters represented by Figure 15 then depicted in
Figure 16. The trending behavior of the residual normal stress changes course as
the bond length exceeds that of development length. The concavity is reversed to
16 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

A t t o p su r f a c e A t 2 5 m m d e pt h

0
Figure 13. Effect of FRP strip number on failure modeðfc ¼ 37 MPa; LF ¼ 150 mm; PCÞ:

reflect lower contributions of the portions of the NSM CFRP strips, extending
beyond the bond length needed to develop full transfer of shearing stresses from
the concrete to the strips. This trend behavior was stipulated in the publications
by Subramaniam et al. and others [2,47].
Cracks formation and propagation up to bond failure are depicted in the NLFE crack-
ing patterns of Figures 17 and 18 for plain pull-out specimens having two embedment
lengths of 150 and 250 mm. The bond length has a clear impact on the formation and
the spread mechanism of cracking, leading to failure. For specimens with the lowest
embedment length at 50 mm, cracks initiate at the pull-out end of the NSM CFRP strips
then appear and extend laterally at their termination points as the load is increased to
ultimately peel-off concrete at the level of cover. As bond length is increased, the possi-
bility of concrete cover separation becomes less. As can be noticed from the cracking pat-
terns of Figures 17 and 18, cracks formed at the termination points of the strips are
higher at 25 mm below the concrete surface level than at the exterior surface of the con-
crete. Their lateral extension remains limited to the vicinity of each strip without any
noticeable interaction of stresses that is essential to separate concrete along a virtual line
that extends across the termination points of the strips. Remember that our comments
here are restricted to the case of two NSM CFRP strips and that a different cracking
mechanism may prevail if the NSM FRP strips were higher.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 17

(A)
80 50mm 75mm 100mm
70 125mm 175mm 200mm
60 250mm 300mm

Pull-out Force KN
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Slip (mm)

(B) 70
50mm 75mm 100mm
125mm 175mm 200mm
60
250mm 300mm
Pull-out Force (kN)

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Slip (mm)

Figure 14. Pull-out force versus end-slip between concrete of varying bond lengths of 2 NSM
CFRP strips.

Figure 15. Shear stress versus end-slip between plain concrete and NSM CFRP strips ðFN ¼ 2; PCÞ:
18 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

(A) (B)
1200 100mm 150mm 1600 100mm 150mm
200mm 250mm 1400 200mm 250mm
1000 300mm 300mm
1200
Concave Up Concave Up
800 1000
Stress MPa

Concave
600 800 Concave
Down
600 Down
400
400
200 200
0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
Posion Position

(C) (D)
100mm 150mm 100mm 150mm
100
100 200mm 250mm 200mm 250mm
300mm 300mm
80 80
Relave stress (%)

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
Posion Position

Figure 16. Variation of normal stress in NSM CFRP strips along its bond length.

6.4. Effect of FRP composite type

To examine the impact of the type of NSM FRP composites and its prescribed adhesive
upon bond behavior, typical properties for basalt FRP (BFRP) and CFRP strips with
typical dimensions of (2.5  150 mm2) were used. The elastic modulus and poissons’
ratio for both composites were (89 and 165 GPa) and (0.26 and 0.30), respectively. The
elasticity modulus, rigidity modulus, and poissons’ ratio for prescribed adhesives were
(2.63 GPa, 980 GPa, and 0.26) and (10 GPa, 4167 GPa, and 0.30), respectively. Pullout
specimens assembled using concrete blocks (of 25 and 55 MPa strength grades) and
two NSM FRP strips, extended at a constant embedment length of 150 mm, were ana-
lyzed using the present model with results graphically depicted in Figure 19. Pull-out
specimens made with NSM CFRP strips showed higher POF and bond stiffness than
those of specimens with NSM BFRP strips; owing to the higher tensile strength and
rigidity of the CFRP composite and its prescribed adhesive. The results show also that
using a higher strength grade for the concrete blocks had an adverse impact on bond
ductility for the specimens with NSM CFRP strips but not those with NSM BFRP
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 19

Prismac Top view At depth of 25mm Stress Ribbon

Figure 17. Crack formation and propagation leading to bond fail-

0
ure (Lf ¼ 150 mm; FN ¼ 2; fc ¼ 25 MPa; PC).

strips. The relatively low elasticity and rigidity modulus of the adhesive, prescribed for
NSM BFRP strips, coupled with the high strength and rigidity of the concrete substrate
allowed higher joint deformability [20]. This seemingly was not the case for specimens
with lower strength grade concrete as the flexible adhesive, prescribed for the NSM
BFRP, was not able to deform significantly because of the premature concrete skin
peeling off.

6.5. Effect of steel reinforcement on bond behavior

Traditionally bond behavior between FRP composites and concrete is studied in the
absence of steel reinforcement. We consider in this part the impact of steel reinforce-
ment upon bond behavior considering varying ratios of reinforcement, expressed in
terms of bond length per number of stirrups. As noted from the data of Table 4, the
POF for pull-out specimens with reinforcement is greater than that of those without
reinforcement at a percentage increase of (4–15%). As noticed, the percentages increase
varied with the bond length of the NSM CFRP strips; showing its highest and the low-
est for specimens with bond lengths of 100 and 50 mm, respectively. However, the
impact of the lateral reinforcement ratio seems marginal. The slip at failure followed a
different trend as specimens with steel reinforcement experienced lower slippages than
20 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

Prismac Top view At depth of 25mm Stress Ribbon

Figure 18. Crack formation and propagation leading to bond fail-

0
ure (Lf ¼ 250 mm; FN ¼ 2; fc ¼ 25 MPa; PC).

(A) (B)

Figure 19. Pull-out force versus slip for two FRP composite types bonded to concrete blocks made
of two strength grades.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 21

Table 4. NLFE bond characteristics for various key parameters via plain and reinforced con-
crete specimens.
Common characteristics Reinforced concrete specimens Plain concrete specimens
0
fC (MPa) lf (mm) NF SF ðmmÞ SS SS (mm) FPOF (kN) Slip (mm) FPOF (kN) Slip (mm)
25 150 2 100 L=3 50 22.4 0.214 19.8 0.210
35 150 2 100 L=3 50 26.6 0.228 24.3 0.222
45 150 2 100 L=3 50 29.6 0.235 27.0 0.248
55 150 2 100 L=3 50 33.0 0.252 29.6 0.260
25 100 2 100 L=2 50 14.7 0.178 12.8 0.138
35 100 2 100 L=2 50 17.1 0.190 15.1 0.150
45 100 2 100 L=2 50 19.4 0.199 17.2 0.159
55 100 2 100 L=2 50 21.4 0.213 19.0 0.177
25 50 2 100 L=2 25 6.9 0.190 6.7 0.182
35 50 2 100 L=2 25 8.3 0.215 8.0 0.217
45 50 2 100 L=2 25 9.4 0.225 9.0 0.226
55 50 2 100 L=2 25 10.5 0.234 10.1 0.254
25 150 2 100 L=2 75 22.1 0.222 19.8 0.210
35 150 2 100 L=2 75 26.2 0.226 24.3 0.222
45 150 2 100 L=2 75 28.5 0.231 27.0 0.248
55 150 2 100 L=2 75 32.0 0.233 29.6 0.260
0
fC : concrete strength; Lf : length of FRP strip; FPOF: finite element pull-out force. FN : number of FRP strip. SN :
number of steel stirrups along the bond length; SS : spacing between steel stirrups along the bond length.

those without except for the case with a bond length of 100 mm. The above discussion
reflects the contribution of steel reinforcement to boosting the axial stiffness of the
specimens. This helped increase POF yet limited the extensibility of concrete, resulting
in a reduced slip at failure.

7. Conclusions
An NLFE model was developed in this work before being validated and used to predict
bond behavior between NSM FRP strips and concrete. The model helped to understand
the impact of various geometric parameters such strips’ spacing, and bond length as
well as concrete’s strength and type of FRP composite upon bond characteristics,
namely the pull-out force and slip at failure, as well as bond failure mechanism and
mode. The findings related to the impact of these key parameters were consistent with
the experimental findings published by the various authors. Therefore, an understand-
ing of the mechanism of bond failure, as related to these parameters, was achieved.
Most importantly, the present results helped in understanding how the concrete cover
separation is developed in repair cases where more than one NSM FRP strips are used.
The present work tackled the impact of the presence of steel reinforcement on bond
behavior. The findings indicate the marginal impact of this factor. The previous discus-
sion reveals that an optimal bond behavior can be achieved by (a) creating man-made
grooves in concrete at a spacing of around 100 mm; (b) using CFRP strips; (c) using an
adhesive of moderate strength and stiffness to adhere the strips into the groove; (d)
applying the repair to a concrete substrate of moderate strength (35–45 MPa); and (e)
extending the strips by (100–200 mm) beyond the critical moment zone. In conclusion,
more data needs to be produced using the present model to increase the database
22 R. HADDAD AND E. AL-RABADI

required to model analytically the impact of the previous parameters upon bond force
in NSM FRP strips.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This work was supported by The Deanship of Scientific Reseach, Jordan University of Science
and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, Project number 111/2018.

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