Numerical modeling of the aging effects of RC shear walls strengthened by CFRP plates: A comparison of results from different "code type" models

Creep and shrinkage are the main types of volume change with time in concrete. These changes cause deflection, cracking and stresses that affect durability, serviceability, long-term reliability and structural integrity of civil engineering infrastructure. Although laboratory test may be undertaken to determine the deformation properties of concrete, these are time-consuming, often expensive and generally not a practical option. Therefore, relatively simple empirically design code models are relied to predict the creep strain. This paper reviews the accuracy of creep and shrinkage predictions of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls structures strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates, which is characterized by a widthwise varying fibre volume fraction. This review is yielded by three commonly used international "code type" models. The assessed are the: CEB-FIP MC 90 model, ACI 209 model and Bazant & Baweja (B3) model. The time-dependent behavior was investigated to analyze their seismic behavior. In the numerical formulation, the adherents and the adhesives are all modelled as shear wall elements, using the mixed finite element method. Several tests were used to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. Numerical results from the present analysis are presented to illustrate the significance of the time-dependency of the lateral displacements and eigenfrequencies modes.