Abstract:
This thesis investigates the flexural performances of strengthened Wood/PVC (WPVC) composite
members using high carbon steel (HCS) flat bar strips adhered to the tension side and a carbon steel
(CS) flat bar strips attached to the town side, The analytical models, numerical results of
finite element analysis (FEA), and experimental investigations were studied. The non-linear stress-
strain relationship representing material models for WPVC, HCS, and CS were experimentally
obtained and utilized to develop the analytical models for input in FEA ABAQUS program, Good
correlations between analytical, numerical, and experimental results were obtained for the members
before and after strengthening on the tension side, especially at initial displacements. The deviations
of memders before strengthening were less than 55% while deviathms of 2.1-9.9% were found for
members strengthened on the tension side. The ultimate loads increased about 2.21 and 1.64 times
for edge-wise and flat-wise loading directions, respectively. For beams with the strengthening on
both the tension and compression sides, numerical and experimental results showed a good
correlation while analytical models gave an overestimation. The strengthening of the member on
both sides could improve the bending stiffness up to 2.8-3.5 times, but the ultimate load increased
only in the range of 1.5-2.1 times for the edge-wise and 1.7-1.8 times for the flat-wise loading
directions due to &bonding effects. The use of analytical and ABAQUS showed good potential for
predicting the flexural behavior of WPVC composite members.