TITLE:
Performance Evaluation of One-Way Concrete Slabs Reinforced with New Developed GFRP Bars
AUTHORS:
Ahmed H. Ali, Mohammad Z. Afifi, Bahira Abdulsalam, Hesham Haggag, Awad El Hashimy, Tarek El-Sayed, Hamdy M. Mohamed
KEYWORDS:
Square and Circular Bars, GFRP Reinforcement Bars, Polypropylene Fibers, Concrete Slabs
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.6 No.5,
May
22,
2015
ABSTRACT: The incorporation of fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) bars in construction as a replacement to
steel bars provides a superior material which is capable to overcome corrosion problems. However,
serviceability requirements are important issues to be considered in the design of concrete
elements reinforced with glass-FRP (GFRP) bars which are known to have larger deflections and
wider crack widths as well as weaker bond compared with steel reinforced concrete. As a solution
to this problem, square GFRP bars are proposed. This paper presents the results of an experimental
investigation that was performed, in which newly developed square and circular GFRP bars
were fabricated in the lab. Also, the GFRP bars were tested and used to reinforce concrete slabs. A
total of nine full-scale GFRP-reinforced concrete (RC) one-way slabs were constructed, tested and
analyzed, considering the most influencing parameters such as the cross sectional shape of GFRP
bars, reinforcement ratio, the concrete characteristics strength, and adding polypropylene fibers
to the concrete mixture. The test results were showed that, the tested slabs with GFRP square bars
improved the deflection and cracking behavior as well as the ultimate load.