Fire insulation schemes for FRP-strengthened concrete slabs

Brea Williams
a
, Luke Bisby
b,
*
, Venkatesh Kodur
c
, Mark Green
b
, Ershad Chowdhury
b
a
Halsall Associates Ltd, 210 Gladstone Ave., Suite 3001 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 0Y6
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Ellis Hall, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
c
National Research Council Canada, Bldg M-59, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Received 27 April 2005; accepted 13 May 2005
Abstract
In recent years, widespread deterioration of civil infrastructure has been a catalyst for the application of externally bonded ber reinforced
polymer (FRP) sheets for reinforcement or strengthening of concrete structures. However, the performance of these FRP strengthening
systems in re is a serious concern, and this represents a critical obstacle to the widespread implementation of FRP repair techniques in
buildings. This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical study conducted to investigate the performance in re of insulated
FRP-strengthened concrete slabs. Four different supplemental re insulation systems are examined through standard re tests, and a
numerical model to predict member behavior in re is presented. Model predictions are shown to satisfactorily agree with test data. The
results of this study indicate that appropriately designed and insulated FRP-strengthened concrete slabs are capable of achieving satisfactory
re endurances.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) (A); High-temperature properties (B); Computational modeling (C); Thermal analysis (D)
1. Introduction and background
Research initiatives around the world during the past two
decades have documented the behavior of externally bonded
ber reinforced polymers (FRPs) for strengthening
reinforced concrete (RC) structures. In these applications,
FRPs are bonded to the exterior of RC structures, typically
using an epoxy resin saturant/adhesive, to provide
additional tensile or conning reinforcement, which
supplements that provided by the internal reinforcing
steel. Sufcient research and implementation has now
been conducted for the development of various design
codes and guidelines for the application of FRPs in
conjunction with concrete structures [14]. However, the
majority of applications to date have been on bridges and
parking structures, where re is not a primary concern. For
externally bonded FRP systems to access the full range of
potential applications, including strengthening and repair of
interior building components, the issue of the re resistance
of FRP materials and externally-bonded systems must be
addressed.
Various concerns are associated with the behavior of
FRPs during re. Most FRPs are susceptible to combustion
of their polymer matrix, potentially resulting in increased
ame spread and toxic smoke evolution. In addition,
commonly used polymer matrices and adhesives rapidly
lose strength and stiffness above their glass transition
temperature (T
g
). The critical T
g
threshold, which depends
on the specic polymer matrix constituents, among other
factors, typically varies from 65 to 82 8C for externally
bonded systems [1]. Thus, if left unprotected in re FRPs
may ignite, supporting ame spread and toxic smoke
evolution [5], and may rapidly lose mechanical and/or
bond properties [6]. Based on a detailed review of literature,
studying the variation in mechanical properties of various
FRPs at high-temperature, Bisby [6] suggested a series of
semi-empirical relationships to describe the variation in
strength and stiffness of unidirectional infrastructure
composites with temperature. These relationships were
derived by tting a sigmoid function, using a least-squares
regression analysis, to a database of results from tests on
unidirectional epoxy-matrix composites of glass, carbon,
and aramid bers that were available in the literature.
Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160
www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa
1359-835X/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.05.028
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C1 613 533 3086; fax: C1 613 533 2128.
E-mail address: bisby@civil.queensu.ca (L. Bisby).
As an example, Fig. 1 shows the resulting variation in
tensile strength for concrete, steel, and carbon or glass/
epoxy FRPs with increasing temperature. It is evident that
FRP strength is more sensitive to elevated temperatures than
either steel or concrete. In addition to reductions in FRP
materials strength and stiffness, the bond between FRPs
and concrete, which is critical to maintain FRPs effective-
ness in most externally-bonded concrete repair applications,
is likely to be severely reduced at temperatures above T
g
.
Little research has been performed in this area with respect
to externally-bonded FRP systems, although results from
bond tests on FRP reinforcing bars at high-temperature have
conrmed the almost complete loss of bond strength at
temperatures above T
g
[7].
Real building res are unique, and their true behavior is
somewhat difcult to predict with accuracy. Hence,
standard re tests have been developed by the research
community to represent typical building res. For instance,
ASTM E119 [8] species a standard timetemperature
curve to be followed in standard re resistance tests. This
curve reaches temperatures in excess of 1000 8C after 2 h. In
describing re performance of a structural member or
assembly, a range of factors should be considered including:
smoke evolution, smoke toxicity, ame spread, re
separation characteristics, and load-bearing capacity. How-
ever, the research program described herein is concerned
primarily with the structural re endurance and re
separation functions, which, for a oor slab assembly, are
dened by ASTM E119 as the length of time during which
each of the following three criteria are satised:
1. The structural member is capable of withstanding its
applied service load (the load which might reasonably be
expected to be supported by the member during a re);
2. The reinforcing steel maintains a temperature of less
than 593 8C; and
3. The average temperature of the unexposed surface does
not rise more than 140 8C, and no individual point on the
unexposed face rises more than 180 8C, above initial
room temperature levels [8].
A limited number of studies exist documenting the
behavior of FRP-strengthened concrete members under re
conditions. Deuring [9] conducted a re test program which
demonstrated that rectangular RC beams strengthened in
exure with externally bonded carbon FRP strips, and
without supplemental re insulation, experienced loss of
interaction between the concrete and FRP as early as 20 min
into the ISO 834 Standard [10] re test, while FRP-
strengthened beams protected with supplemental re
insulation schemes (consisting of mechanically fastened
insulating boards) displayed lower temperatures at the
concrete/adhesive interface and lost interaction only after
about 1 h of re exposure. A second test program conducted
at Ghent University, Belgium [11] studied the effect of the
supplemental re protections thickness, conguration,
length, and method of adhesion (adhesive only or
mechanical fastening plus adhesive) on the re performance
concrete beams strengthened in exure with externally
bonded carbon FRP strips. Mechanical anchorage was
shown to provide superior maintenance of the insulations
bond to the concrete beams, and a U-shaped re protection
conguration (applied to both the base and sides of the
beams) provided more effective insulation capacity,
reducing temperatures in the carbon FRP strip, and resulted
in lower overall deections and greater time to loss of
composite interaction.
The only available study on the re performance of full-
scale RC members strengthened with externally-bonded wet
lay-up FRP sheets was conducted as an initial phase of the
ongoing study reported herein, where three 3.81 m-long
400 mm-diameter circular concrete columns, strengthened
(conned) with carbon FRP sheets, were insulated, loaded
to service load levels, and exposed to ASTM E119 standard
re conditions for more than 4 h without failing [6,12]. The
insulated FRP-wrapped columns achieved 4 h re ratings
according to ASTM requirements based on axial load
capacity, and the authors concluded that, while FRP
materials are highly sensitive to the effects of elevated
temperatures, appropriately designed, and in most cases
insulated, FRP-strengthened RC columns are capable of
achieving satisfactory re endurances.
The current paper presents the results of an experimental
and numerical investigation conducted on four intermedi-
ate-scale insulated FRP-strengthened RC slabs exposed to
standard re conditions. The research was performed at
Queens University, Canada, and the National Research
Council Canada (NRC), in collaboration with industrial
partners Fyfe Co. LLC and Degussa Building Systems. Two
different wet lay-up externally bonded FRP strengthening
systems and three supplemental re insulation systems have
been studied to date. Temperature data from the re tests are
Fig. 1. Approximate variation in tensile strength with temperature for
concrete and reinforcing steel (based on approximate equations presented
by Lie [14]) and for unidirectional carbon and glass bre/epoxy matrix
FRPs (based on semi-empirical analytical relationships developed by Bisby
[6]).
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1152
presented and compared with predictions of a numerical
nite difference model, developed by the authors.
2. Experimental program
The purpose of the tests discussed herein was to evaluate
the performance in re and thermal effectiveness of various
supplemental re insulation systems for externally bonded
FRP reinforcing systems for concrete, such that the
insulation schemes could be optimized for application on
full-scale FRP-strengthened RC beam-slab assemblies (to
be re tested at a later date). In addition, the data from the
tests was used to validate numerical heat transfer models,
which describe insulation performance and enable para-
metric studies. These slab tests thus represent a preliminary
investigation of insulations effectiveness. The reader
should note that no load, other than self-weight, was applied
to the slabs during their re exposures.
2.1. Slab specimens
The slabs were designed with dimensions (954!
1331 mm) that would allow two specimens to be tested
concurrently in the intermediate-scale furnace at NRC. A
slab thickness of 150 mm was selected as being representa-
tive of typical RC building slabs that are encountered in
practice in North America. Minimal internal steel reinforce-
ment was provided, consisting of 315 mm diameter
deformed reinforcing steel bars spanning the long direction,
and 310 mm diameter reinforcing bars spanning the short
slab direction. The reinforcement was designed with a clear
cover of 25 mm, which is typical of cover values used in
practice [13]. The concrete mix had a specied 28-day
strength of 28 MPa, and incorporated pure crushed lime-
stone (carbonate) aggregate. The volumetric moisture
content in the concrete was determined to be approximately
4.5% at the time of testing.
2.2. Strengthening and insulation
Twoof thefour slabs were strengthenedandprotectedwith
FRP and insulation systems provided by Fyfe Co. LLC, and
two were strengthened and protected with systems provided
by Degussa Building Systems. Fig. 2 shows schematics of the
completed slab cross sections, including the FRP and
insulation schemes used on each. FRP was applied to the
tension faces of the slabs, with bers running in the longer
dimension, using a wet lay-up procedure in a manner
representative of a typical eld installation.
Slabs 1 and 2 were protected with different thicknesses of
a two-component re protection system developed speci-
cally for the current application by Fyfe Co. LLC. This
system consisted of a layer of Tyfo
w
VG insulation (VG),
applied to the exterior of the carbon FRP wraps, followed
by Tyfo
w
EI coating (EI), applied to the outside surface of
the VG. VG is a spray-applied re-resistant plaster that was
installed in thicknesses of 19 and 38 mm for slabs 1 and 2,
respectively. EI is an intumescent epoxy surface-hardening
coating, which was trowel-applied to a thickness of
0.25 mm on the exterior of the VG insulation on each
slab. Intumescent coatings are essentially specialized paints
that, when exposed to temperatures in excess of their
Fig. 2. Through-thickness details of the four insulated FRP-strengthened
reinforced concrete slab specimens tested.
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1153
activation temperature expand to many times their original
thickness and form an insulating char that protects the
underlying material from the thermal insult of the re.
Slab 3 was protected with 38 mm of MBrace
w
Insulation
1, and slab 4 with 38 mm of MBrace
w
Insulation 2
insulation, both of which were supplied by Watson Bowman
Acme Corporation and are proprietary Portland cement
based mortars incorporating lightweight llers which were
trowelled onto the exterior surface of the FRP sheets. The
re protection systems for slabs 3 and 4 did not include any
secondary surface coatings. Table 1 provides details of the
slab specimens, FRP and insulation systems used, and
parameters that were varied.
A total of 12 thermocouples were installed in (or on) each
slab at various locations throughout the concrete depth and
within the FRP and insulation layers. This allowed
temperatures to be recorded at various interfaces, and
within the concrete, and allowed for qualitative comparison
of the various insulation systems that were being evaluated.
2.3. Test setup
Two slabs were tested, two at a time, in the intermediate-
scale furnace at NRC, as shown in Fig. 3. Two layers of
ceramic ber blanket insulation were placed between the
slabs to allow them to react independently to the re. Each
slab was supported on an insulated ledge along three sides of
the furnace. The slabs were exposed to re in accordance
with the ASTM E119 [8] standard re curve, with no
additional applied load. The standard re curve is included
in Fig. 4.
3. Fire test results
3.1. Slabs 1 and 2
Slabs 1 and 2 were both protected with a two-part
passive/intumescent re protection system and were
identical except for the thickness of passive VG insulation
applied to the exterior of the FRP. During re exposure,
the EI coating activated (i.e. it expanded and charred) within
5 min of re exposure when it reached a temperature of
about 235 8C. Within 10 min of re exposure the intumes-
cent reaction was completed and the EI layer delaminated
from the underside of the slabs, falling into the test furnace.
At 132 min, the insulation on slab 1 debonded from the
underside of the slab and exposing the FRP directly to the
re. Within 5 min of the insulation debonding the FRP had
completely delaminated from the slab, followed shortly
thereafter by extensive spalling of the concrete cover which
exposed the reinforcing steel directly to the re. Cracks,
approximately 5 mm in width, subsequently developed at
the unexposed surface of slab 1. Slab 2, which had double
the thickness of insulation, performed extremely well during
re exposure and showed little apparent damage during the
full 4 h of the re test. The insulation system on slab 2
remained intact, with only very minor cracking observed.
3.2. Slabs 3 and 4
Slabs 3 and 4 were both protected with Portland cement-
based passive re insulation mortars; neither of these
insulation schemes incorporated an intumescent coating.
Both slabs performed extremely well and were exposed to
re for 4 h without failing; however, development of minor
cracks in the insulation of both slabs was observed within
Table 1
Details of slab specimens tested to date
No. FRP type No. layers
FRP
Insulation
system
Insulation
thickness
(mm)
Fire resistance (min)
Criterion 1 Criterion 2 Criterion 3 T
g
criterion
1 Tyfo
w
SCH
a
2 Tyfo
w
VG/EI
a
19 147 O240 42
2 Tyfo
w
SCH
a
2 Tyfo
w
VG/EI
a
38 O240 O240 104
3 MBrace
w
CF130
b
1 MBrace
w
Insulation
1350
c
38 O240 O240 46
4 MBrace
w
CF130
b
1 MBrace
w
Insulation 2
38 O240 O240 52
a
Additional information available from http://www.fyfeco.com.
b
Additional information available from http://www.mbrace.com.
c
Additional information available from http://www.degussa.com.
Fig. 3. The intermediate-scale slab furnace at NRC with two slab specimens
installed and ready for re testing.
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1154
the rst 2 h of the tests. These cracks appeared to gradually
widen as the test progressed, likely due to thermally induced
drying shrinkage of the insulation. Nonetheless, the re
insulation on slabs 3 and 4 remained intact for the full
duration of the test.
3.3. Temperatures
Fig. 4 shows the temperatures measured within the
concrete, FRP, and insulation layers for all four slabs tested
to date, and Fig. 5 shows a comparison of temperatures
recorded at the same location in all four slabs. For all of the
slabs, the temperature at the re/insulation interface rose
more slowly than the re temperature, and remained at
temperatures slightly lower than the furnace temperature
throughout the test. This is due to a combination of: the
protective capacity of the EI layer in slabs 1 and 2; the
thermocouples being slightly embedded in the insulation in
all four slabs; and a mild heat-sink effect wherein the
insulation draws heat away from the thermocouples at its
surface. It is interesting to note the similar performance of all
four insulation systems at this location, indicating that the EI
coating on slabs 1 and 2 had little direct benecial effect on
the thermal insulating performance of the system (although
the EI coating does play a signicant role as a surface
hardening agent for the VG layer under ambient conditions).
At the insulation/FRP interface, the temperature initially
increased until a plateau was reached at about 100 8C. The
duration of this plateau appeared to be dependent both on
the thickness of the insulation and on the type of passive
insulation used. For instance, for slabs 1 and 2, which
incorporated gypsum-based passive insulation of different
thicknesses, a doubling of the insulation thickness from 19
to 38 mm for slabs 1 and 2, respectively, resulted in an
increase in the 100 8C temperature plateau from about
34 min into the test to 176 min. Slabs 3 and 4, both of which
were insulated with Portland cement-based insulation
materials with a thickness of 38 mm, both displayed
plateaus that were somewhat less pronounced and that
lasted only until 65 and 70 min of re exposure,
respectively. It is thought that the observed temperature
plateaus at this location in all slabs occurred due to the
evaporation of free and chemically bound water from the
insulation/FRP interface at temperatures close to 100 8C.
During this time, most of the thermal energy penetrating the
insulation was consumed through the latent heat of
evaporation of water, and only minimal temperature
increases were observed. Once the water had evaporated,
the temperature again began to rise. The gypsum-based
Fig. 4. Temperatures recorded at various locations in slabs 1 through 4 during re testing.
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1155
insulation on slab 2, also at a thickness of 38 mm, had a
longer plateau due to the greater volume of water for
dehydration of hydrated gypsum as compared with hydrated
Portland cement.
In slab 1, temperature increased sharply beyond the
100 8C plateau to approximately 400 8C at 55 min, at which
point the rate of temperature rise decreased somewhat,
likely due to decomposition of the FRPs epoxy matrix/
adhesive; an endothermic reaction which is known to occur
at a temperature of about 400 8C. At approximately 132 min
of re exposure the temperature at this interface in slab 1
increased dramatically due to delamination of the insulation
layer. This is clearly evident in Figs. 4 and 5. In slabs 2, 3
and 4, the temperature at the insulation/FRP interface rose at
a more gentle rate, and at 4 h the temperature at this
interface was 272, 409 and 405 8C, respectively.
Because the FRP/concrete interface was slightly farther
from the re and was, to a very minor extent, insulated by
the low thermal conductivity FRP layer, the temperature at
this location rose more slowly than at the insulation/FRP
interface in all slabs. The temperature leveled off at
temperatures slightly less than 100 8C due to the moisture
evaporation plateau at the adjacent insulation/FRP interface.
The temperature then increased again in all slabs until the
end of the test. Delamination of the insulation and FRP on
slab 1 at 132 min of re exposure created a large
temperature spike, resulting from sudden combustion of
the re-exposed FRP. At the end of the test, the
temperatures at the FRP/concrete interface in slabs 2, 3
and 4 were 206, 246 and 284 8C, respectively. It is worth
noting that these temperatures are, in all cases, signicantly
greater than the T
g
values for the adhesive/matrices used.
3.4. ASTM E119 re endurance criteria
As stated earlier, ASTM E119 species three criteria,
two of which are based purely on thermal requirements, to
determine the re endurance rating for slabs and oor
assemblies. Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, show the tempera-
tures recorded at the bottom of the internal tensile steel
reinforcement (Criterion 2) and at the slabs unexposed
surfaces (Criterion 3) in comparison with the allowable
ASTM E119 [8] temperature limits.
Fig. 6 shows that slabs 24 maintained reinforcement
temperatures of less than 593 8C for the full 4-h duration of
the tests. In fact, the maximum observed reinforcement
temperatures in slabs 2, 3 and 4 were only 104, 131 and
158 8C, respectively. Not surprisingly, the Criterion 2
temperature limit was exceeded in slab 1 at 147 min, shortly
after the insulation debonded from the FRP, resulting in
spalling and direct exposure of the reinforcement to the re.
Fig. 7 shows that the average temperature of the unexposed
Fig. 5. Comparison plots showing temperatures recorded at the same location in each of the four slabs.
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1156
face of all four slabs remained less than the limiting
temperature for the full 4 h duration of the re exposure.
Thus, according to the thermal requirements of ASTM E119
[8], slab 1 had a re endurance rating of 147 min, whereas
slabs 24 all had re endurances in excess of 4 h. It is
interesting to note that concrete slabs are typically required to
achieve 2 or 3 h re endurance ratings in North America.
Since the slabs in the current study were not subjected to load
during re exposure it is not possible to determine their re
rating according to the rst of the ASTM E119 criteria. Tests
on loaded slabs will be required to achieve this goal.
3.5. FRP effectiveness during re
The ASTM E119 requirements are concerned only with
the overall performance of structural assemblies during re,
and they do not specically address questions regarding the
effectiveness of the externally bonded FRP systems. It is
interesting, however, to consider what the likely effects of
the observed temperatures might be on the FRP wraps. It is
well known that the structural performance of an FRP
material decreases rapidly beyond the T
g
of the polymer
matrix. While some research studies have indicated that
unidirectional FRPs used in infrastructure applications can
retain much of their longitudinal strength and stiffness at
temperatures well above their T
g
, for practical purposes it is
almost certain that the bond between the FRP and the
concrete would be lost at, or slightly above, this
temperature. If it is assumed that the T
g
of the matrices
used in the current study is 82 8C, a value that is at the upper
end of the likely range for systems currently used in
concrete repair applications [1], then the FRP would
probably be ineffective as early as 42, 104, 46, and 52 min
for slabs 1 through 4, respectively.
It is important to recognize that the above concept of
maintenance of FRP effectiveness during re is not
currently enforced by applicable re testing standards in
North America, and given the overall goals of re-safety
engineering it does not appear that it necessarily should be.
Slab or oor assemblies are required to retain sufcient
strength during re to support their full service load for the
required duration of re. Thus, even if the FRP loses its
effectiveness relatively early on in the re exposure, the
insulation will protect the underlying concrete slab so that
the overall re endurance of the assembly proves
satisfactory. The important design consideration, then, is
to ensure that the existing (unstrengthened but insulated)
slab retains sufcient strength during re to resist full
service loads for the required duration. In most cases this
criterion is relatively easy to ensure, provided that the
increase in strength due to FRP wrapping is kept within the
range of 2550%, depending on the live-to-dead load ratio,
and assuming that the slab is provided with some form of
supplemental re insulation.
4. Numerical model
A numerical heat transfer model was developed in
conjunction with the slab testing described above in an
attempt to predict the temperatures at various points
throughout the cross section of an insulated FRP-
strengthened RC slab. The model was programmed by
Bisby [6] and Williams [14] using a modied version of a
one-dimensional explicit nite difference heat transfer
procedure that has been presented previously by Lie [15].
The effects the intumescent coating on slabs 1 and 2 are not
included in the analysis, due to its relatively insignicant
effect on the heat transfer behavior and because of the
complexities associated with modeling these types of
coatings [16]. The model discretizes the insulation, FRP,
and concrete into a series of elemental layers and
successively applies simple thermal equilibrium equations
to each. The variation in the thermal properties (thermal
conductivity and heat capacity) of all materials with
increasing temperature is taken into account using relation-
ships suggested by Lie [15] for concrete, Grifs et al. [17]
Fig. 6. Temperatures recorded at the level of the internal reinforcing steel in
all four slabs.
Fig. 7. Average of temperatures recorded at the unexposed face for all four
slabs (average of ve temperature readings).
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1157
for carbon FRP, and Bisby [6] for the spray-applied
insulation. It is assumed that re exposure occurs from
below, that heat transfer to the slab occurs due to radiation
only, and that heat loss from the top of the slab is by
convection only using empirical equations for convective
heat transfer above a horizontal surface as suggested by
Spiers [18]. The effects of moisture evaporation from the
concrete are included by assuming that when the tempera-
ture in a layer reaches 100 8C, all of the heat transferred to
that layer is used to evaporate water. During evaporation,
the temperature in the layer is assumed to remain at 100 8C.
Temperatures begin to rise again only when all of the
moisture in the layer has completely evaporated. The effects
of moisture migrating away from the source of heat, a
phenomenon which has been observed in testing and which
is thought to play a role in the models inability to
accurately predict temperatures near 100 8C, are not
included at this time. Because the overall theory and
application of this type of explicit nite difference heat
transfer model is not novel and has been presented in detail
elsewhere [6,14,15,19], it is not necessary to completely
describe the equations used in the current analysis.
The reader should note that several commercially
available models exist to simulate heat transfer in reinforced
concrete structural members [20,21]. The available models
typically account for the latent heat of moisture evaporation
from the concrete, but most do not attempt to treat moisture
migration. Attempts to include moisture migration in
concrete under re exposure have been presented in the
literature [22], although the required equations signicantly
increase the computational effort required and have not yet
been included in the current analysis.
Relatively straightforward numerical models have also
been developed and presented previously to treat heat
transfer in thick FRP composites exposed to re. A review
of the state of the art in this area is presented by Davies et al.
[23]. When thick FRPs are exposed to re, pyrolysis of the
polymer matrix near the re exposed surface will occur,
leading to the formation of a protective char. The thickness
of the char layer increases with increasing re exposure and
forms a thermal barrier that insulates the interior of the FRP
component. The char eventually degrades and heat transfer
beyond this point is governed by the thermal properties of
the bers that remain. Thus, accurate heat transfer analysis
in thick FRPs requires consideration of the effects of matrix
pyrolysis, off gassing, char formation, and char erosion.
However, for the case of FRP-strengthened reinforced
concrete slabs subjected to re, the FRP strengthening
materials are typically very thin (less than 12 mm), and
their contribution to the overall heat transfer in the member
is not signicant. This point is evidenced by referring to
Fig. 8, where the observed temperature drop across the FRP
sheet is seen to be insignicant for at least the rst 3 h of the
re test. Hence, the additional computational effort required
to treat pyrolysis and charring of the FRP is, in the opinion
of the authors, not warranted for the current illustrative
analysis. The observed increase in temperature drop across
the FRP at later stages of the re exposure may indeed be
due to polymer matrix pyrolysis at elevated temperatures,
and attempts will be made to account for these affects in
future analyses. In cases where FRP materials are
sufciently thick to signicantly affect heat transfer in the
overall structural member, the reader in encouraged to
consult the work of Davies et al. [23].
As an example of the models output, Fig. 8 provides a
comparison of the predicted and measured temperatures in
the insulation, FRP, and concrete for slab 2 during
exposure to the standard re. The temperature at the re/
insulation interface is over-predicted in this case, likely
because of the heat sink behavior experienced by the
thermocouple located at the surface of the insulation. In
addition, the EI coating has not been included in the
model. Finally, it is likely that the re/insulation interface
thermocouple was very slightly embedded in the
insulation, thus reducing the observed temperatures at
that location. At the insulation/FRP and FRP/concrete
interfaces, the model adequately captures the slow rise in
temperature to around 100 8C and appropriately predicts a
decreased rate of temperature increase due to moisture
evaporation from the insulation. However, the temperature
drop across the FRP layer, which is observed to increase
above 100 8C, is not well captured by the model. The
increasing drop in temperature across the FRP is likely
due to a change in thermal properties of the epoxy matrix
above T
g
, a behavior that remains incompletely under-
stood and is that not currently accounted for in the model.
Overall, it appears that the model satisfactorily
captures the thermal behavior at each interface, such
that it could be used for preliminary parametric studies.
The model is currently being further rened to allow it to
more accurately describe the variation in thermal proper-
ties of the various materials involved. The effects of
moisture migration and evaporation form the insulation
are also being incorporated.
Fig. 8. Comparison of model predictions and observed temperatures in slab
2 during re testing.
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1158
5. Preliminary parametric studies
While the numerical model described above should be
regarded as preliminary, simple parametric studies were
conducted and have led to some interesting insights with
respect to the re performance of externally bonded FRP
strengthening systems for RC members. As stated pre-
viously, there is some question as to whether FRP materials
used for externally strengthening RC members can maintain
their effectiveness during re, and what thicknesses of
insulation might be required to ensure that this occurs. Two
insulation parameters are critical in any such discussion:
thermal conductivity and insulation thickness.
Preliminary parametric studies was conducted based on a
number of assumptions: (1) that the insulation system was
that used on slabs 1 and 2; (2) that re endurance is dened
as the time at which the FRP bondline temperature exceeds
the adhesives T
g
; and (3) that T
g
of the FRP is 82 8C. It is
important to remember that the second assumption is used
here only for the purposes illustration, and the authors do
not wish to promote the use of T
g
limits in dening re
resistance for FRP-strengthened concrete members. It has
also been assumed in this discussion that the slab specimens
and FRP wrapping schemes are as outlined earlier for slabs
1 and 2 of the experimental program (i.e. carbonate
aggregate slabs, 150 mm thick with two layers of
externally-bonded carbon/epoxy FRP wraps).
Using the above assumptions, the effect of insulation
thickness on re resistance as predicted by the numerical
model is shown in Fig. 9. As expected, re resistance
increases with greater insulation thickness, reaching about
90 min with 50 mm of insulation. The gain in re resistance
with increases in insulation thickness is roughly exponen-
tial. It is also apparent that, even with a substantial thickness
of insulation, it appears that it will be difcult to maintain
the FRP temperature below its glass transition temperature
for a prolonged period of re exposure.
By assuming that the thermal conductivity of the
insulation remains constant with increasing temperature
(an assumption which does not hold true for most insulation
systems in re) it is possible to examine the inuence of
thermal conductivity on the re resistance of FRP-
strengthened concrete slabs using the assumptions
mentioned previously. It is also assumed that the insulation
is 25 mm thick. Fig. 10 shows that re resistance is
maximized at lower thermal conductivity values, and that
re resistance decreases rapidly within the 0.10.5 W/m-K
range. At thermal conductivity values above 0.5 W/m-K,
negligible reductions in re endurance are observed. It
should be noted that the best re insulation materials that are
currently practical for use in buildings have thermal
conductivities of about 0.1 W/m-K.
The above discussion points to the fact that, given the
thermal conductivities of currently available, cost-effective
insulation materials, and given also the fact that insulation
thickness greater than about 50 mm rapidly become imprac-
tical in many eld applications, it appears that it will be very
difcult to maintain the effectiveness of externally-bonded
FRP reinforcement during re. However, as stated previously,
maintaining effectiveness of the FRP wrap is in no way an
essential criterion for achieving adequate re resistance.
6. Conclusions
This paper presents the results of an experimental and
numerical investigation into the re performance of
unloaded, intermediate-scale, insulated FRP-strengthened
RC slabs. Four slab specimens were strengthened and
insulated, and their internal temperatures were monitored
during exposure to the ASTM E119 standard re. Two
different FRP strengthening systems and three different re
protection schemes were considered. Based on the results of
both experimental and numerical studies, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
Fig. 9. Predicted variation in re resistance with varying insulation
thickness (re resistance dened in terms of the matrix/adhesive glass
transition temperature).
Fig. 10. Predicted variation in re resistance with varying insulation
thermal conductivity (re resistance dened in terms of the matrix/adhesive
glass transition temperature).
B. Williams et al. / Composites: Part A 37 (2006) 11511160 1159
Accordingto ASTME119re endurance criteria, a 4-h re
endurance rating (based on thermal criteria only) can be
achieved with 38 mmof any of the four insulation schemes
examined herein. Asmaller thickness of Insulation System
1 (19 mm) provided approximately 2 h of re protection
for a 150 mm thick reinforced concrete slab.
Observations from the re tests indicate that providing
sufcient insulation thickness is important in minimizing
cracking and preventing possible delamination of the re
protection layer and concrete cover.
A simple heat transfer model has been developed that can
provide reasonable estimates of the temperature within
insulated FRP-strengthened RCslabs during re exposure.
Further renement of material thermal properties, and
incorporation of moisture migration, is necessary to
improve correlation with measured data.
While it appears that it will likely be difcult to maintain
the effectiveness of externally-bonded FRP strengthening
systems duringre, it is possible to achieve satisfactoryre
performance for FRP-strengthenedRCmembers, provided
they are appropriately designed and adequately insulated.
Tests on full-scale insulated FRP-strengthened RC slabs
under load are required to conrm this conclusion.
7. Ongoing research
The testing and analysis presented in the current paper
represent one phase of a larger ongoing research study. In
addition to the testing and analysis presented herein, the
overall research project includes full-scale re tests and
numerical modeling of insulated and uninsulated circular
and square FRP-wrapped RC columns [12] and insulated
FRP-strengthened reinforced concrete beam-slab
assemblies, both under load. More recently, bench-scale
tests on the high-temperature and residual mechanical and
bond properties of FRP materials are being conducted.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the funding provided
by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada (NSERC) and the Intelligent Sensing for
Innovative Structures (ISIS) Network of the Canadian
Network of Centres of Excellence. The authors would also
like to acknowledge the support of the National Research
Council of Canada, Fyfe Company LLC, Degussa Building
Systems, and Queens University, Canada.
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