Preparation of steel surfaces for effective adhesive bonding

In the FRP strengthening of steel structures, cohesion failure in the adhesive is the preferred mode of debonding failure at FRP-to-steel interfaces so that the design theory can be established based on the properties of the adhesive. In this paper, results from a systematic experimental study are presented to exam-ine the effects of steel surface treatment and adhesive properties on the adhesion strength between steel and adhesive. The test results show that adhesion failure can be avoided if the steel surface is grit-blasted prior to bonding and the treated surface can be characterised using three key surface parameters.