Prediction of prestress level in steel structures strengthened by bonded Fe‐SMA strips

Previous studies have demonstrated a great potential of prestressed strengthening of steel structures employing iron‐based shape memory alloys (Fe‐SMAs). A bonded Fe‐SMA strengthening solution has been proposed with partial activation, in which the prestrained Fe‐SMA strip is fully bonded onto the steel structure, and the middle region of the Fe‐SMA strip is heated to generate prestress. The two ends remain unheated and transfer the prestress to the parent structure. In this study, a column model and a beam model are developed to analyze the prestress level in the steel structures strengthened by bonded Fe‐SMA. The predicted strains in the parent structure are in excellent agreement with the experimental measurement from the literature.