Behaviour of carbon fiber reinforced polymer strengthened tubular joints

This paper highlights the experimental and numerical investigations performed on a tubular T-joint fabricated from circular hollow sections under axial compressive loads applied at the brace. Tests were performed on a reference joint and the joint wrapped with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). The Nitowrap EP carbon fiber with Nitowrap 410 resin serve as a composite material is used for wrapping the T-joint. Schematic diagram of the fabricated tubular joint for the experimental test setup, along with the experimental and numerical results are presented. After performing these experiments, it has been demonstrated that the joint wrapped with CFRP has a better strength and lesser deflection than a reference joint. Finite element analysis carried out in Ansys reveals that the results were in good correlation with the experimental values.