A State-of-the-Art Review on Debonding Failures of FRP Laminates Externally Adhered to Concrete

There is significant concern in the engineering community regarding the safety and effectiveness of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening of RC structures because of the potential for brittle debonding failures. In this paper, previous research programs conducted by other researchers were reviewed in terms of the debonding failure of FRP laminates externally attached to concrete. This review article also discusses the influences on bond strength and failure modes as well as the existing experimental research and developed equations. Based on the review, several important conclusions were re-emphasized, including the finding that the bond transfer strength is proportional to the concrete compressive strength; that there is a certain bond development length that has to be exceeded; and that thinner adhesive layers in fact lower the chances of a concrete-adhesive interface failure. It is also found that there exist uncertainty and inaccuracy in the available models when compared with the experimental data and inconsistency among the models. This demonstrates the need for continuing research and compilation of data on the topic of FRP’s bond strength.