EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM WITH GRC PERMANENT FORM : Part 1 Deformation and bearing behavior

Abstract

Applications of permanent formwork using highly strengthened precast concrete instead of the conventional plywood form have been attempted recently for the automation and simplification of RC construction. In this study, large RC beam specimens were manufactured using permanent forms made from high strength glass fiber reinforced cement (GRC), which were to form part of the beams' concrete cover. Its main objective is to compare the flexural behavior of these specimens to a RC beam specimen of the same size constructed using the conventional plywood form. Experimental results show that the cracking, yielding, and ultimate loads of the RC beam specimens using GRC permanent forms are similar to the conventional RC beam.