Evaluation through a finite element simulation of the performance of FRP anchors for externally bonded reinforcements

A large number of parameters are involved in the behaviour of fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) anchors, which make it difficult to estimate the anchors’ contribution to the anchored joint through simple expressions that fit sufficiently well to the real behaviour. Previous research has shown that the installation process, material properties and anchor-to-reinforcement arrangement have influence on the maximum load, the load–displacement relationship, and the failure mode of the FRP-to-concrete anchored joints. Based on these observations, an empirical model to estimate carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) anchored joint’s strength was proposed. As the expressions were obtained from experimental results, a finite element simulation was performed to numerically assess the parameters that were identified as most influential in the behaviour of CFRP anchored joints. This paper presents the FE model proposed and its comparison with the experimental results.