A Large-Tonnage High-Strength CFRP Cable-Anchor System: Experimental Investigation and FE Study

Abstract In this study, a parallel-tendon and dispersed-tendon cable anchor system (CAS) for high-strength carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) cables were investigated based on a previously developed load transfer component (LTC). The static behaviors of three cables comprising 37 CFRP tendons with a 7-mm tendon diameter were experimentally evaluated and the failure mechanism of the cables was numerically revealed. The parallel-tendon cable exhibited an integral pull-out failure caused by a shear failure of the LTC, while the dispersed-tendon cables showed a mixed shear and compressive failure caused by an excessive axial tensile strain difference and wedge action of the LTC. From loading end to free end, the shear stress of the LTC first increased rapidly, and then increased slowly with fluctuations, and finally peaked the free end. The experimental and numerical results agreed well in the axial cable strains and shear stresses of the LTC. By optimizing parallel tendons into dispersed tendons in the anchor zone, the anchor efficiency of the cable was improved from 60% to 91%. Correspondingly, the cable force was improved from 2,684 to 4,070 kN. The increase in the anchor length and decrease in the conical angle can decrease the stress concentration of the dispersed-tendon CAS.