Behaviour of timber-glued panels strengthened with BFRP under tensile loading

Wood is a complex material which exhibits wide range of variation of its material properties. Adding to this variations, often found defects such as knots significantly affect the properties and performance of timber structures. Studies have been conducted focusing on strengthening of timber structures against defects such as knots. One such strengthening option for glued laminated timber beams is the fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening. This paper presents a study aimed at investigating the behaviour of timber-glued panels with Basalt FRP (BFRP) under tensile loading. The results from an experimental program using both, timber without knots and with knots are presented. A finite element model aimed at further understanding the experimental results is also presented. It was found that, BFRP can effectively enhance the load carrying capacity of damaged timber specimens. Effectiveness of BFRP increased with the BFRP cross sectional area and damage percentage of timber. It was also found that, after the failure initiation of timber, BFRP can still carry further loading, therefore resulting in more ductile behaviour compared to pure timber specimens.