10.2.9 Creep-rupture and fatigue stress limits—To avoid creep-rupture of the FRP reinforcement under sustained stresses or failure due to cyclic stresses and fatigue of the FRP reinforcement, the stress levels in the FRP reinforcement under these stress conditions should be checked. Because these stress levels will be within the elastic response range of the member, the stresses can be computed by elastic analysis.
In Section 4.4, the creep-rupture phenomenon and fatigue characteristics of FRP material were described and the resistance to its effects by various types of fibers was examined. As stated in Section 4.4.1, research has indicated that glass, aramid, and carbon fibers can sustain approximately 0.3, 0.5, and 0.9 times their ultimate strengths, respectively, before encountering a creep-rupture problem (Yamaguchi et al. 1997 ; Malvar 1998). To avoid failure of an FRP-reinforced member due to creep-rupture and fatigue of the FRP, stress limits for these conditions should be imposed on the FRP reinforcement. The stress level in the FRP reinforcement can be computed using elastic analysis and an applied moment due to all sustained loads (dead loads and the sustained portion of the live load) plus the maximum moment induced in a fatigue loading cycle (Fig. 10.4). The sustained stress ultimate limit state.