Impact of thermal loads on interfacial debonding in FRP strengthened beams

The effect of thermal loads on the debonding mechanisms in beams strengthened with externally bonded composite materials is analytically investigated. The analytical approach adopts a high-order stress analysis model and a fracture mechanics model that uses the concept of the energy release rate through the thermo-mechanical form of the J-integral. The two models are combined to synthesize the relation between the energy release rate, the mechanical loads, the thermal loads, and the interfacial crack length simulating the thermo-mechanical debonding process. The model is supported through comparison with experimental results taken from the literature. The comparison quantifies and explains various phenomena observed in the experiments and mainly the non-monotonic dependency of the debonding failure load on the temperature. The impact of the temperature on the interfacial stresses and on the stability of the debonding process is also studied. Finally, the effect of an uniform thermal load on the debonding behavior of a strengthened beam is studied revealing the impact of the thermal load on the debonding stability and strength characteristics.