Abstract
The replacement of conventional steel reinforcement with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars was investigated previously to overcome the problem of steel reinforcement corrosion and structural deterioration in concrete structures exposed to aggressive environments. However, the lower modulus of elasticity of FRP materials and their non-yielding characteristic results in large deflection and wide cracks in FRP-reinforced concrete members. Hence, there is a need for a suitable design philosophy and for methods that can provide a reliable estimate of such behavior.
This paper evaluates the behavior of simply supported concrete slabs reinforced with bars of glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) and subjected to four-point monotonic loading. The slabs had sizes of 4000 × 1000 × 150 mm and 4000 × 1000 × 200 mm with different reinforcement ratios. This research investigated the flexural and shear limit states of the slabs, including pre-cracking behavior, cracking pattern and width, deflections, ultimate capacities and strains, and failure modes. The information presented is valuable for future field application and development of design guidelines for FRP-reinforced concrete structures.
