Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Analytical and experimental study on exural performance of WPCFRP beams

M. Naghipour, M. Nematzadeh *, Q. Yahyazadeh
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Babol University of Technology, 47148-71167 Babol, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Wood plastic composite (WPC) beams retrotted with carbon and glass ber-reinforced polymer (CFRP
Received 27 February 2010 and GFRP) composites offer an attractive solution to enhance the behavior of wood in terms of strength
Received in revised form 16 May 2010 and ductility, as well as altering the mode of rupture of such structural members. However, very little is
Accepted 19 June 2010
known about their performance. Thus, this paper presents a theoretical model based on nonlinear WPC
Available online 27 July 2010
properties, to investigate the behavior of hybrid WPCFRP beams. In order to calculate the bending
moment, the model considers an exponential function in the stressstrain diagram of WPC in both ten-
Keywords:
sion and compression parallel to the bers. A four-point bending test conguration was conducted as
Wood plastic composite
CFRP and GFRP
short-term experiments to determine the loaddisplacement relationships of WPC beams with CFRP
Theoretical model and GFRP sheets adhered to the tensile side. In order to validate the employed approach, the results
Flexural performance obtained from the theoretical model were compared with the experimental results where a satisfactory
agreement was achieved.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction appropriate applicant in many structural applications such as reha-

The limited weight density of wood along with its remarkable
resistance under both tensile and compressive loads has made it
a very effective structural material. However, such environmental
agents as temperature change, moisture and insect attacks can lead
to deterioration of wooden structures. The stiffness and strength
reduction of wood elements such as beams and columns have fre-
quently led to either substitution or retrotting with classic meth-
ods in order to prevent the destruction of such structural elements.
In recent decades, wood components have been strengthened by
utilizing different techniques, some of which have been employed
to strengthen the existing wood beams which could not be com-
pletely substituted. For this reason, the introduction of composite
materials as reinforcements for the wood elements under loading
became of great interest [13]. Hence, retrotting of existent wood
members in the wooden buildings formed a challenge for many
researchers.
In recent years, researchers have concentrated upon alternative
materials for the renovation and reinforcement of structures. Much
of their consideration has been devoted to the utilization of bers-
reinforced polymer (FRP). Several important merits including
corrosion resistance, high strength, low weight, electromagnetic
neutrality, as well as high elastic modulus and high resistance
against the environmental degradation agents have made FRP an
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 9111146772; fax: +98 1113231707.
E-mail addresses: m.naghi@nit.ac.ir (M. Naghipour), m.nematzadeh@stu.nit.ac.ir
(M. Nematzadeh), qyahyazadeh@yahoo.com (Q. Yahyazadeh).
bilitation, reinforcement, and development of wooden members.
Recent studies have shown that wooden structures reinforced with
FRP composites have found applications in civil engineering
including bridges, infrastructure applications, reinforced railroad
ties, and repair of wood piles [412]. Wangaard [13], one of the
pioneers of research on ber-reinforced polymer used in wooden
structures, utilized both experimental and theoretical procedures
to analyze and compare the elastic deection values of wood
berglass composite beams. Triantallou et al. [14,15] proposed
an analytic model to indicate a relation between strain and stress
for reinforced timber members with FRP sheets on their tension
face. This model considers the timber with an elasticplastic
behavior under compression and an elastic-linear behavior under
tension, while the ber was considered as a linear-elastic material.
The results showed that reinforced wood members including outer
bonding of FRP sheets on their tension sides can provide an appro-
priate method for increasing their stiffness, strength, and ductility
characteristics. Lindenberg [16] developed a nonlinear probabilis-
tic model based on the moment curvature for the analysis of
reinforced glulam beams in bending, in order to compute the
loaddeection relationships of the strengthened beam. Li et al.
[17] veried a exural theory of retrotted wood beams using
the carbon ber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite material
through a four-point bending test. Available in their report was de-
tails of the exural strength and mid-span vertical displacement of
the CFRP-retrotted wood beams with the performance of the
CFRP sheets adhered to the tensile side. Using experimental and
theoretical methods, effectiveness of glass ber-reinforced

0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.06.104
830 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837
polymer into the vibration damping of glulam beams strengthened
with GFRP was investigated by Naghipour et al. [18].
Wood plastic composites (WPC) are offering relatively new re-
search questions compared to the conventional wood materials
in recent years. These composites are manufactured by blending
wood our and plastics to produce a material which can treat sim-
ilar to 100% plastic-based products [1922]. One of the major ben-
ets of the WPC is its resistance against biological deterioration for
outdoor applications where conventional wood products are not
appropriate. Wood plastic composites have emerged as a viable
replacement for industrial structural applications such as water-
front structures and bridge decking due to their resistance to mois-
ture and decay. However, the largest and fastest growing market
for WPCs is extruded residential decking and railing [23,24]. Re-
cent studies have demonstrated the ability to effectively use wood
polypropylene (PP) composites in transportation structures like
pedestrian and rural highway bridge decks [25]. Also, the demon-
strated application of a polyvinyl chloride wood plastic composite
(PVC WPC) indicates that WPCs are capable of resisting signicant
load demands like those found on an industrial pier deck subjected
to forklift travel consisting of a 16,000-lbf wheel load with a 600-
lbf/ft. distributed load [26]. Wood plastic composites have also
experienced signicant market expansion in recent years as a
replacement for solid wood, mainly in outdoor applications such
as landscaping timbers, fencing, playground equipment, railings,
decking, windows and door frames. The acceptance of WPCs into
the construction industry contributes to their popularity.
Most plastics are not stiff and creep-resistant enough for con-
struction applications, and need further reinforcement to become
viable products. Typical reinforcements for plastic are heavy and
expensive materials, such as berglass and various minerals. Wood
bers can be used to provide the reinforcement, with little of the
weight gain associated with mineral and glass llers [27]. WPC
materials have stiffness between those for plastic or wood, but
the density is generally higher than either. Moreover, the presence
of wood in a plastic matrix can result in a lower-cost material with
good stiffness and impact resistance, dimensional stability, resis-
tance to rot, excellent thermal properties and low moisture absorp-
tion than if plastic alone was used. Therefore, they can cost-
effectively replace plastic products in applications such as window
frames, cable trunking, rooine products and cladding, in fact any-
where that plastics shapes are used.
WPCs can be produced from wood remainders and recycled
plastics with low cost and high accessibility. Nonetheless, low
strength and stiffness as well as susceptibility to creep has resulted
in the employment of FRP composite sheets for the improvement
and strengthening of WPC members. Although many researchers
developed the utilization of retrotted wooden products with
FRP composite sheets, only a few reports on hybrid WPCFRP
structural members can be found in the literature. To use wood
plastic composites in structural applications, a better comprehen-
sion of the behavior and material properties under sustained loads
must be acquired. Dagher et al. [28] proposed a nonlinear moment
curvature program to predict the behavior of polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) and wood plastic composite (WPC) hollow sections in bend-
ing. Taking into consideration an elasticplastic approximation for
WPC constitutive relationship and a linear approximation for FRP
constitutive relationship, their theoretical method was conrmed
using the manufactured hybrid WPCFRP members with a series
of varying reinforcement ratios. Lopez-Anido et al. [29], using a
nonlinear model, investigated the exural behavior of hybrid
WPCFRP beams based on the uniaxial material constitutive rela-
tionship and structural modeling to analyze and compare the the-
oretical and experimental values.
In this paper, a theoretical model based on nonlinear WPC prop-
erties is presented to investigate the exural performance of wood
plastic composite beams retrotted with FRP composite sheets. To
calculate the bending moment, the model considers an exponential
function in the stressstrain diagram of WPC in both tension and
compression, parallel to the bers. The four-point bending test
was performed to determine the loaddisplacement relationships
of WPC beams with CFRP and GFRP sheets adhered to the tensile
side.
2. Materials and methods
A number of coupon tests were established to acquire the mechanical proper-
ties and behavior of WPC material in tension and compression as well as the
mechanical properties of FRP in tension. Using the characterization of WPC and
FRP composite material, a nonlinear model based on the moment curvature numer-
ical analysis was presented. Finally, a four-point bending experiment was applied to
evaluate the accuracy of the experimental results cross-validated with the theoret-
ical counterparts.
2.1. Material characterization tests
The stressstrain relationships of WPC and FRP composite materials are de-
tailed in the forthcoming paragraph. The approach adopted to describe the proper-
ties of WPC is based on a series of standard tests. ASTM D 638 [30] is a standard test
method to examine the stressstrain behavior of WPC samples in uniaxial tension
test. Moreover, the mechanical properties of WPC in compression are obtained
through uniaxial compression test of ASTM D 695 [31]. The tensile specimen
dimensions are 150 mm long, with the center section being 10 mm wide by
4 mm thick by 80 mm long. Also, cross-section dimensions of the compressive spec-
imen are 12.7  12.7 mm with 25.4 mm long. Figs. 1 and 2 demonstrate the exper-
imental stressstrain relationship of WPC in the tension and compression tests,
respectively. Ultimate stress, maximum strain and initial modulus of the WPC in
tension and compression attained from the experimental tests, respectively, are
shown in Tables 1 and 2. In these tables, the initial elastic modulus was computed
at strain of 0.001 for tension and 0.005 for compression. In general, FRP composite
material is composed of two basic segments, ber and matrix (epoxy resin). Carbon
and glass bers are the reinforcing materials in the FRP composite to provide high
strength and modulus of elasticity. The FRP sheets are characterized following
ASTM D 3039 [32] specications. Performing the aforementioned standard test,
the specications of the CFRP and GFRP composites are presented in Table 3. This
work is involved the external bonding of thin FRP sheets onto the tension zones
of WPC beams using epoxy resins. The unidirectional ber-reinforced polymers
were glued to WPC with Epoxy Dur 300 adhesive by using the wet application sys-
tem. The specications and testing standards of matrix (epoxy resin) [30,3436]
used in this study are listed in Table 4 which were given by the supplier.
2.2. Installation procedure
The lamination process that can be used to x FRP sheet in WPC is manual. In
this process, a surface primer is applied rst to the WPC prepared surface to ll mi-
cro-cavities. After the primer is cured, a layer of putty is applied to level uneven
spots and ll surface cavities. The recommended resin is then mixed and applied
to the WPC surface in a thin uniform layer using a roller. The epoxy resin consisted
of two parts of saturant A and B which were mixed in a ratio of 100:34.5 by weight.
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Fig. 1. The experimental and theoretical tensile stressstrain relationships of WPC
samples.
 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837 831

60 Table 4
The specications and testing standards of the matrix (epoxy resin).

50 Item Specication Testing standard

Viscosity (+23 C) 750 mPa s ASTM D 2393
Heat distortion temperature (+23 C) +49 C ASTM D 648
40
Curing 7 days
Tensile strength (+23 C) 45 MPa ASTM D 638
30 Curing 7 days
Flexural modulus (+23 C) 3000 MPa ASTM D 790
Curing 7 days
20 Tensile modulus (+23 C) 3500 MPa ASTM D 638
Curing 7 days
Elongation at break (+23 C) 1.5% ASTM D 638
10
Curing 7 days

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
2. There is no slipping (debonding) between the FPR composite sheets and the
WPC surface.
Fig. 2. The experimental and theoretical compressive stressstrain relationships of 3. The wood plastic composite beam has two symmetrical orthogonal planes.
WPC samples. 4. After attaining the maximum stress to the ultimate tensile stress in the WPC
composite beam, the effect of the tensile region is ignored.
5. The ultimate moment capacity is obtained when the maximum strain of WPC in
compression or FRP in tension is reached.
Table 1
The material parameters and mechanical properties of WPC under tension test.
2.3.2. Uniaxial stressstrain relationship of WPC
A0 B0 Initial Ultimate Maximum The proposed theoretical model considers the realistic behavior of WPC in both
(MPa) modulus stress (MPa) strain tension and compression in the form of an exponential function parallel to the -
(MPa) bers, as follows:
Theoretical 29.6478 284.02 7330.4 29.20 0.016 r A1  eBe 1
Experimental 6533.3 29.33 0.016
(average) in which A and B are material parameters that were optimized using the least square
Error (%) 10.87 0.45 method. In the above equation, the parameter A is approximately equivalent to the
maximum stress corresponding to maximum strain. Moreover, the expression A  B
is exactly equivalent to the initial bending stiffness. Note that the values of material
parameters are dissimilar in tension and compression. The existence of only one
Table 2 relation with a few parameters in all points of the tensile and compressive stress
The material parameters and mechanical properties of WPC under compression test. strain relationships provides a facile approach for exural nonlinear analysis in com-
parison with those available in the literature. The material parameters in tension
A (MPa) B Initial Ultimate Maximum and compression have been shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Also, these tables
modulus stress strain demonstrate ultimate stress, maximum strain, and initial modulus obtained from
(MPa) (MPa) the theoretical analysis. Theoretical stressstrain relationships of the wood plastic
composite in tension and compression have been illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, respec-
Theoretical 49.9765 63.8323 2318.43 49.674 0.0796
tively. As seen, in initial and nal portions of the compression curve the theoretical
Experimental 2580.05 49.091 0.0796
model overestimates whereas in the middle portion it underestimates the experi-
(average)
mental data. However, there is an excellent conformity in tension. In this work, pre-
Error (%) 11.28 1.17
fabricated I sections of wood plastic composite were utilized in order to enhance the
exural behavior in terms of strength and stiffness. Although the I section is most
popular in steel structures, it is not widely prevalent in wood structures. Moreover,
this shape of section has been less frequently used for discussion in published
Table 3
works.
The specications of FRP.

CFRP Tensile stress (MP) 2090 2.3.3. FRP composite material

Modulus of elastic (GP) 190 The generic stressstrain relationship of FRP composite material can be de-
Strain at failure 0.011 scribed by a linear elastic behavior. The following equations express the stress
Reinforcement thickness (mm) 0.12 strain relationship of FRP composite material.
GFRP Tensile strength 884.4 rfrp Efrp efrp if 0 6 efrp < efrpu else rfrp 0 2
Modulus of elastic (GP) 40.2
Strain at failure 0.022 where Efrp and efrpu represent, respectively, the Young modulus and the ultimate
Reinforcement thickness (mm) 0.27 strain. Also, rfrp and efrp are the corresponding stress and strain of FRP composite
material, respectively.

2.3.4. Theoretical analysis of WPCFRP composite beam

A ber sheet (pre-impregnated or dry) is cut to the desired length and width and For the nonlinear analysis of WPC beam retrotted with FRP composite, the
pressed to the WPC using a bubble roller. This act eliminates the entrapped air be- classical beam theory was used to obtain the loaddisplacement relationship.
tween the bers and resin and ensures the impregnation of the FRP sheet with re- According to the stress and strain distribution in cross-section of the WPCFRP
sin. After the ply is installed, a second layer of impregnating resin is applied. In the composite beam illustrated in Fig. 3a and b, the compatibility relationships can be
case of multiple plies, the process is repeated. written in terms of etop (strain at the uppermost compressive ber) based on the
aforementioned assumptions, as follows:
2.3. Theoretical model
etop H  h tfrp
efm 3
h
2.3.1. Model assumptions
etop H  h
The following assumptions were taken into account for the proposed theoretical ewm 4
h
model:
where h is the distance of neutral axis from the farthest compressive ber and H is
1. During loading, the plane section of beams remains plane, since the bending the total height of the cross-section of WPC. Also, efm and ewm are the maximum
inuence is taken into consideration and the shear inuence is ignored. stress of FRP and tensile region of WPC, respectively.
832 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837

Afrp
bf tfrp Cfrp
tf tf bf top top
y y h CWI
CWII
tw tw NA
H H
TWII
TWI
t'f b'f t'f b'f wm wm
t'frp t'frp Tfrp
A'frp A'frp fm fm
Tested cross General cross
Strain distribution Stress distribution
section section
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 3. The strain and stress distributions of the WPCFRP composite beam section.

From the condition of the force equilibrium it follows that After the maximum tensile stress of the WPC reaches the ultimate tensile
strength, by ignoring the tensile zone, Eqs. (10) and (11) are simplied to the fol-
C WI  C WII C frp T WI  T WII T frp 5
lowing form.
where CWI and TWI are compressive and tensile forces of the hypothetical rectangular
area of WPC section, respectively (a rectangular with a width equal to the ange
bf  tw etop t f hetop tw  ht w =B htw  bf ehtf Betop =h =B hbf eBetop =B
width and height equal to the total height of the WPC cross-section). Also, CWII  Efrp A0frp H  h tfrp =2e2top =Ah 0 12
and TWII are, respectively the compressive and tensile forces of the void rectangular
area of WPC located between two anges which must be subtracted from the forces
M Ahbf t w h  h=B=etop t f =B=etop eBetop 1tf =h
of the hypothetical rectangular. Cfrp and Tfrp are the compressive and tensile forces of
2
FRP sheet composite, respectively. Ah bf 1 1=B=etop =B=etop eBetop At f bf  tw h  tf =2
   
Using the proposed stressstrain relationship in the force equilibrium equation, 2 1 1
for any general section of the FRPWPC composite beam illustrated in Fig. 3b, Eq.
Ah  1=B2 =e2top tw etop Efrp A0frp h  tfrp t 2frp =h  2H Ht frp =h H2 =h
2 4
(5) can be rewritten as follows: 13
Z h Z ht f Z Hh
0 0 0
Be Be
bf A1  e dy  bf  t w A1  e dy Afrp Efrp efrp  bf A 1  eB e dy
0 0 0
Z Hht0f
0 0 0
e 2.3.5. Numerical analysis of WPCFRP composite beam
bf  tw A 1  e B
dy  Afrp E0frp 0frp e 0 6 The proposed model in this work was programmed using numerical analysis to
0
0 0 investigate the nonlinear behavior of WPCFRP composite beam in bending. The
where A and B are the material parameters in compression and A and B are the
micro-strain increment was utilized for the maximum compressive strain located
material parameters in tension. Afrp and A0frp represent the composite area in the com-
at the uppermost compressive ber of the cross-section of the composite beam.
pression and tension regions, respectively. Also, efrp and e0frp are compressive and ten-
For any top strain etop, the following procedure was followed until the beam was
sile strain of FRP sheets, respectively.
fractured.
The total bending moment of the general cross-section is obtained from the
sum of the moment of forces in cross-section about neutral axis as follows:
(1) Select an incremental strain De.
Z h Z ht f (2) Import the strain etop(i) on the farthest compressive ber in the beginning of
Be Be
M bf A1  e y dy  bf  t w A1  e y dy Afrp Efrp efrp h tfrp =2 ith step.
0 0
Z Hh Z Hht0f (3) Calculate the neutral axis depth h(i) from Eqs. (10) or (12) using trial and
0 0 0 0
 bf A0 1  eB e y dy bf  t w A0 1  eB e y dy error method.
0 0
(4) Calculate the total bending moment M(i) from Eqs. (11) or (13).
 A0frp Efrp 0frp H  h t0frp =2
e 7 (5) Calculate the curvature of the cross-section (curvature = strain/depth to
neutral axis).
Using the assumption of the preservation of plane section in the composite
(6) Record (j(i), M(i)) as one point of the momentcurvature relationship of the
beam, a linear relationship can be written between the strain of any arbitrary point
WPCFRP composite beam.
and that of the farthest compressive ber etop as follows:
(7) Calculate the cumulative values of the strain in the current iteration e(i+1) as
etop y
e 8 the sum of the cumulative values in the previous step e(i), and De in the cur-
h
rent step e(i+1) = e(i) + De.
where y in Eqs. (6)(8) is the distance of the arbitrary point to the neutral axis of (8) Go to the next step and then, repeat steps (1)(7).
cross-section.
According to the tested area section in this paper indicated in Fig. 3a, the FRP
The iteration is stopped when the maximum strain of WPC in compression or
sheet was used only in the tensile region and the cross-section of the WPC beam
FRP in tension is reached. After obtaining the momentcurvature relationship, the
is symmetrical about its centerline. Therefore, the following relation can be applied:
loaddisplacement relationship of the composite beam can be obtained following
0
Afrp 0; bf bf ; tf t0f 9 the application of the curvature-area method (second moment area theorem). In
this method, by selecting an incremental load in any iteration and knowing the cur-
Substituting Eqs. (8) and (9) into Eqs. (6) and (7), integrating, and then simpli- vature of all points of the composite beam, and then calculating the moment area of
fying, we obtain the curvature curve of the half beam round the support point, the loaddisplace-
ment relationship is obtained.
A0 bf A0 tw Abf  Atw etop t f B0 B Ah  A0 H A0 hetop tw B0 B
0
A0 B  AB0 ht w ht w  bf AB0 ehtf Betop =h  A0 BeHhtf B etop =h
2.4. Experimental procedure of beam tests
0 Betop 0 HhB0 etop =h
hbf AB e  BA e  Efrp A0frp H  h t frp =2e 2 0
top BB =h 0 10
Twenty-one samples were tested to determine their exural characteristics.
M Ahbf t w h  h=B=etop tf =B=etop eBetop 1tf =h Three of the beams considered were un-reinforced WPC beams and the others were
0 reinforced with varying layers of CFRP and GFRP. Wood plastic beams were rein-
 A0 htf h  h=B0 =etop  Hbf tw =B0 =etop eB etop H=h1tf =h
forced on the bottom surface of the beam with 13 layers of CFRP and GFRP com-
0 B0 etop H=h1 2
0
 A bf h  h=B =etop  H=B =etop e 0
Ah bf 1 1=B=etop =B=etop eBetop posite sheets. Information of the WPC beams is presented in Table 5. The beams
0
A bf  Abf A 0
A htw  Aht w A0 Hbf  A0 bf
t w At w t2f =2 Ahbf 0 were all under a four-point bending test with the application of the identical loads
  located at one-third intervals of the span, according to the ASTM D198-94 [33] stan-
1 2 1 1 2 2 2
 A0 t w Ht f A0 Hh Ah A0 H2 A0 h  Ah =B2 =e2top  A0 h =B02 =e2top tw dard. ASTM D 198-94 is a standard test method which was utilized to determine the
2 2 2
  properties of the wooden beams. Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the four-point
1 bending test for the hybrid WPCFRP beam along with cross-section dimension
etop Efrp A0frp h  tfrp t2frp =h  2H Ht frp =h H2 =h 11
4 used in this work.
 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837 833

Table 5 15
The characterization of WPC beams under four-point bending test.

Beam Number of Number of FRP Kind of

number specimens layers reinforcement
A 3 Un-reinforced Un-reinforced
A1 3 1 Carbon ber 10
A2 3 2 Carbon ber

Load (KN)
A3 3 3 Carbon ber
Theoretical
B1 3 1 Glass ber
B2 3 2 Glass ber
B3 3 3 Glass ber
Experimental
5

3. Discussion of experimental and theoretical results

To evaluate the performance of the WPC reinforced with the

glass ber and carbon ber, the values of strength, initial stiffness 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
and mid-span deection of the beam were calculated through both
Displacement (mm)
experimental and theoretical methods. Moreover, using the four-
point bending test, the failure modes of the FRPWPC specimens Fig. 5. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC
were scrutinized. beams (A0).

15
3.1. Flexural performance of FRPWPC specimens

Figs. 511 exhibit the experimental and theoretical loaddis-

placement relationships of the wood plastic composite beam
Experimental
without reinforcement and reinforced with 13 layers of CFRP
and GFRP composite sheets. The experimental and theoretical re- 10
Load (KN)

sults of the tested specimens are shown in Tables 69. As seen, Theoretical
the average ultimate load of the un-reinforced beams in experi-
mental method was obtained at 10.46 kN, while a value of
10.12 kN was obtained from the theoretical analysis. In the rein-
forced tested beams, the increase of the FRP layers caused an 5
enhancement of ultimate load from 13.90 for one layer to
18.85 kN for three layers in specimens strengthened with CFRP,
and from 12.80 kN for one layer to 18.47 kN for three layers in
those strengthened with GFRP. The increase percentage of the
ultimate load in the composite beam with three layers of carbon 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
and glass ber reinforcement in comparison to the un-reinforced
Displacement (mm)
specimens, are 80.3% and 76.6%, respectively. Additionally, these
values in theoretical analysis reached 60% and 46%, respectively, Fig. 6. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC
for three layers of CFRP and GFRP. According to Table 10, the car- beams reinforced with 1 layer of CFRP (A1).
bon sheets bring about a considerable enhancement in initial
stiffness, altering from 6.2% to 53.6% for the specimens A1A3, 3.2. Evaluation of the failure modes
as compared to the WPC unretrotted beams. Furthermore, the
enhancement of initial stiffness in beams B1B3 reinforced with The failure modes of WPC beams un-reinforced and rein-
glass sheets corresponds to 7.829.3%. forced with FRP have been shown in Table 9. The failure mode of

LVDT
Sec: A-A

Fig. 4. A schematic of the four-point bending test.

834 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837

20 20

15 Experimental 15
Experimental
Load (KN)

Load (KN)
Theoretical Theoretical

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)
Fig. 7. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC Fig. 10. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC
beams reinforced with 2 layers of CFRP (A2). beams reinforced with 2 layers of GFRP (B2).

25 25

20 20

Experimental
Experimental
Load (KN)

Load (KN)

15 15
Theoretical Theoretical

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)
Fig. 8. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC Fig. 11. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC
beams reinforced with 3 layers of CFRP (A3). beams reinforced with 3 layers of GFRP (B3).

Table 6
15 Experimental and theoretical results (without reinforcement).

Experimental Theoretical
Sample Sample Sample Average
no. 1 no. 2 no. 3

Experimental Ult. load (N) 10,606 10,261 10,506 10457.67 10,120

10 Ult. disp. 37.67 36.15 33.33 35.72 31.10
Load (KN)

Theoretical (mm)

specimen A0 (un-reinforced) was a exural failure as the tensile re-

5
gion reaches the ultimate tensile strength; see Fig. 12. Flexural fail-
ure mode was observed in the specimens B1 (reinforced with 1
layer of GFRP), B2 (reinforced with 2 layers of GFRP) and B3 (rein-
forced with 3 layers of GFRP). Although in each of the three groups,
the failure was accompanied with the ultimate strength of WPC in
0 the tensile region and GFRP rupture, in group B3, failure was
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
simultaneous with GFRP debonding; see Fig. 13. Failure mode in
Displacement (mm)
specimens strengthened with CFRP was found to be somewhat
Fig. 9. The experimental and theoretical loaddisplacement relationships of WPC different from those strengthened with GFRP. In the composite
beams reinforced with 1 layer of GFRP (B1). beams A1 (reinforced with 1 layer of CFRP) and A2 (reinforced with
 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837 835

Table 7 of WPC. In specimen A3 (reinforced with 3 layers of CFRP), prior

Experimental and theoretical results (CFRP sheet reinforcement). to the failure in the tensile region of the cross-section, the localized
Number Experimental Theoretical buckling has occurred in the upper ange. This was because of the
of the
Sample Sample Sample Average substantial increase in tensile stiffness of the lower ange and the
beam insufcient stiffness of the web. In this case, neither CFRP nor the
no. 1 no. 2 no. 3
A1 Ult. 13,382 14,127 14,187 13898.7 13,746
WPC were mobilized to their maximum capacity (in tension or
load compression).
(N)
Ult. 28.52 33.22 29.96 30.57 31.25 3.3. Comparison between theoretical and experimental results
disp.
(mm)
In all specimens (see Figs. 511) except specimen A3 (Fig. 8), a
A2 Ult. 17,475 17,648 18,041 17721.33 18,115
good similarity between the theoretical and experimental results
load
(N) was perceived. The inconsistency between theoretical and experi-
Ult. 39.90 32.14 49.86 40.63 40.68 mental curves, as mentioned previously, is due to the localized
disp. buckling of the upper ange with dissimilarity between their stiff-
(mm)
ness being insignicant.
A3 Ult. 18,696 17,742 20,115 18,851 22,010 The values of the strength and initial stiffness of WPCFRP com-
load
posite beams achieved through the experimental tests were com-
(N)
Ult. 47.94 41.93 51.89 47.25 54.35
pared to the values of theoretical analysis in Tables 9 and 10.
disp. Table 9 indicates the values of the ultimate loads and their errors.
(mm) The error percentages of ultimate load keep a record of 3.314.4%
(average 5.25%) for WPCCFRP and 3.35.3% (average 4%) for WPC
GFRP beams that show a good agreement between experimental
and analytical results. The greatest difference among the results
Table 8
exists in the buckled specimen A3 (=14.4%).
Experimental and theoretical results (GFRP sheet reinforcement) 7.
According to Table 10, the error percentage between the theo-
Number Experimental Theoretical retical and experimental initial stiffness of specimen is in the range
of the
Sample Sample Sample Average of 5.111.8% for CFRP reinforcements and in the range of 4.17.2%
beam
no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 for GFRP reinforcements. Likewise, there is a good accord between
B1 Ult. 13,957 12,620 11,838 12,805 13,359 the experimental and theoretical initial stiffness exhibited in Figs.
load 14 and 15.
(N)
Ult. 39.12 32.82 32.01 34.65 37.06
disp.
(mm) 4. Conclusion
B2 Ult. 15,627 16,543 19,222 17130.67 16,589
load Using the proposed theoretical model, the exural behavior of
(N) wood plastic composite beams un-reinforced and reinforced with
Ult. 47.12 43.18 49.39 46.56 44.48 FRP was analyzed. In this model, an exponential function for the
disp.
stressstrain relationship of WPC in both tension and compression
(mm)
parallel to the bers was considered. To investigate the validity of
B3 Ult. 20,838 16,814 17,751 18467.67 19,511
the model, several experimental tests were performed. Scrutiniz-
load
(N) ing the theoretical and experimental results, the following conclu-
Ult. 56.10 43 52.34 50.48 52.88 sions were obtained:
disp.
(mm) 1. With regard to the increase of the ultimate load and initial ex-
ural stiffness in the specimens reinforced with FRP, results indi-
2 layers of CFRP), however, the exural failure due to CFRP rupture cated the increase in the exural capacity up to 80.3% and
occurred but the tensile region did not reach the maximum tensile 76.6%, respectively, for three layers of CFRP and GFRP in com-
capacity, and immediately following the CFRP rupture, the WPC parison with un-reinforced specimens. Also, the increase per-
failed as well. The primary reason for the mentioned observation centage of the initial stiffness was 53.6% for three layers of
is that, the rupture strain of CFRP in tension is smaller than that CFRP and 29.3% for GFRP.

Table 9
Comparison of experimental and theoretical values.

Number of Mean exp. ult. Percentage increased Theoretical Error (%)a Failure modes
the beam load (N) exp. ult. load (%) ult. load (N)
Un-reinforcement A0 10457.67 10,120 3.3 Flexure failure in tensile region
CFRP A1 13898.7 32.9 13,746 1.1 CFRP rupture
A2 17721.33 69.5 18,115 2.2 CFRP rupture
A3 18,851 80.3 22,010 14.4 Distortion compression region
GFRP B1 12,805 22.4 13,359 4.1 Flexure failure in tensile region, GFRP rupture
B2 17130.67 63.8 16,589 3.3 Flexure failure in tensile region, GFRP rupture
B3 18467.67 76.6 19,511 5.3 Flexure failure in tensile region, GFRP debonding
a
Error (%) = (Theoretical ult. load  Exp. ult. load)/(Exp. ult. load) * 100.
836 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837

Table 10
Theoretical and experimental values initial stiffness.

Layers number Mean experimental initial stiffness Percentage increased exp. initial stiffness (%) Theoretical initial stiffness Error (%)a
(kN/mm) (kN/mm)
Un-reinforcement A0 600.77 639.43 6.44
CFRP A1 637.85 6.2 709.46 11.23
A2 808.09 34.5 766.6 5.13
A3 922.88 53.6 814.12 11.78
GFRP B1 647.96 7.8 674.43 4.09
B2 659.04 9.7 706.47 7.20
B3 777.01 29.3 735.96 5.28
a
Error (%) = ((Theoretical initial stiffness Exp. initial stiffness) / (Exp. initial stiffness) * 100.

1000
900

Initial stiffness (N/mm)

800
700
600
500
400
Theoretical
300
Experimental
200
100
0
0 1 2 3
Layers number
Fig. 12. The failure mode of specimen A0 (un-reinforced).

Fig. 14. Comparison of experimental and theoretical initial stiffness of WPCFRP

beams A0, A1, A2 and A3.

900

800
Initial stiffness (N/mm)

700

600

500

400
Theoretical
300
Experimental
200

100

0
0 1 2 3

Fig. 13. The failure modes of specimen B3 (reinforced with 3 layers of GFRP). Layers number

Fig. 15. Comparison of experimental and theoretical initial stiffness of WPCFRP

beams B0, B1, B2 and B3.
2. Appraising the exural initial stiffness in two methods, experi-
mental and theoretical, a difference about 5.111.8% for WPC
CFRP beams and 4.17.2% for WPCGFRP beams was observed.
Also, the average error of ultimate load for the specimens rein-
forced with CFRP and GFRP was obtained 5.25% and 4%,
respectively.
3. In the composite beam reinforced with three layers of CFRP
sheets (A3), due to the signicant enhancement of the tensile
stiffness in comparison to the compressive one and the insuf-
cient stiffness of the web of the beam, the tensile zone of the
cross-section did not accede to the maximum exural capacity
and therefore, the localized buckling in the upper ange
occurred without the CFRP rupture. Hence, the maximum error
belongs to the A3 specimen.
4. The suggested computed model elucidates a valid correlation
between the experimental and theoretical results for the tested
specimens. This is particularly appropriate for assessing and
predicting the exural response of the reinforced WPC
elements.
 M. Naghipour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 829837 837

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