Web Crippling Resistance of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Sections Combined with Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Pultruded GFRP sections exhibit lower mechanical properties in the transverse direction due to the alignment of fibres along the longitudinal direction. This results in web crippling failure when subjected to concentrated compression in the transverse direction. Previous studies have shown that steel and CFRP strengthening techniques can enhance the web crippling capacity of pultruded GFRP sections. However, steel strengthening is limited to non-corrosive environments, while CFRP increases costs significantly. This research introduces a novel strengthening technique using fibre-reinforced epoxy composite (FEC), a lightweight, corrosion-resistant material with excellent bonding strength. Experimental and finite element analysis validated the effectiveness of FEC strengthening, leading to proposed equations for calculating web crippling capacity in various loading conditions.