This study investigates the impact of varying glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) stirrup spacing on the performance of doubly GFRP-reinforced concrete beams. The research focuses on assessing the behavior of GFRP-reinforced concrete beams, including load-carrying capacity, cracking, and deformability. It explores the feasibility and effectiveness of GFRP bars as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Six concrete beams with a cross-section of 300 mm (wide) × 250 mm (deep), simply supported on a 2100 mm span, were tested. The beams underwent four-point bending with two concentrated loads applied symmetrically at one-third of the span length, resulting in a shear span (a)-to-depth (h) ratio of 2.8. The experimental findings reveal that altering the GFRP stirrup spacing along the longitudinal axis of the beams, from 200 mm (equivalent to the effective depth (d)) to 50 mm (equal to (d⁄4)), altered the mode of failure from flexure-shear to flexure-compression. However, when the spacing was equal to or less than (d⁄3), there was no significant improvement in load-carrying capacity, as the contribution of GFRP bars in resisting shear loads was limited. Under service loads, the GFRP-reinforced beams exhibited wider cracks, but reducing the stirrup spacing helped restrain crack widening. Incorporating GFRP bars in the compression zone had a positive effect on reducing crack width in the tension zone. Additionally, using GFRP stirrups with spacing varying between (d) and (d⁄2) in the pure bending region increased the deflection ductility indexes. To enhance the ductility of GFRP-reinforced concrete beams, it is recommended to use GFRP stirrups in the pure bending region with spacing greater than the spacing between GFRP stirrups in the shear spans. The study highlights that the current ACI code overestimates the shear capacity provided by GFRP stirrups, particularly when the spacing is less than or equal to (d⁄3). Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-02-011 Full Text: PDF
Reinforced concrete (RC) beams containing a longitudinal cavity have become an innovative development and advantage for economic purposes of light-weight members without largely affecting their resistance against the applied loads. This type of openings can also be used for maintenance purposes and usage space of communication lines, pipelines, etc. RC beams are primarily loaded in the plane of the members, which are two-dimensional in a plane stress state and the dominant structural behaviours include bending, shear, or combination of both. In the present study, six numerical models of RC beams with and without openings were simulated by using commercial finite element software ANSYS to evaluate the structural behaviours of those b
... Show MoreThe present study aims to get experimentally a deeper understanding of the efficiency of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets applied to improve the torsional behavior of L-shaped reinforced concrete spandrel beams in which their ledges were loaded in two stages under monotonic loading. An experimental program was conducted on spandrel beams considering different key parameters including the cross-sectional aspect ratio (
To accommodate utilities in buildings, different sizes of openings are provided in the web of reinforced concrete deep beams, which cause reductions in the beam strength and stiffness. This paper aims to investigate experimentally and numerically the effectiveness of using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips, as a strengthening technique, to externally strengthen reinforced concrete continuous deep beams (RCCDBs) with large openings. The experimental work included testing three RCCDBs under five-point bending. A reference specimen was prepared without openings to explore the reductions in strength and stiffness after providing large openings. Openings were created symmetrically at the center of spans of the other specimens
... Show MoreNon-prismatic reinforced concrete (RC) beams are widely used for various practical purposes, including enhancing architectural aesthetics and increasing the overall thickness in the support area above the column, which gives high assurance to services that this will not result in the distortion of construction features and can reduce heights. The hollow sections (recess) can also be used for the maintenance of large structural sections and the safe passage of utility lines of water, gas, telecommunications, electricity, etc. They are generally used in large and complex civil engineering works like bridges. This study conducted a numerical study using the commercial finite element software ANSYS version 15 for analysing RC beams, hol
... Show MoreThis paper studied the behaviour of reinforced reactive powder concrete (RPC) two-way slabs under static load. The experimental program included testing three simply supported slabs of 1000 mm length, 1000 mm width, and 70 mm thickness. Tested specimens were of identical properties except their steel fibers volume ratio (0.5 %, 1 %, and 1.5 %). Static test results revealed that, increasing steel fibers volume ratio from 0.5% to 1% and from 1% to 1.5%, led to an increase in: first crack load by (32.2 % and 52.3 %), ultimate load by (36.1 % and 17.0 %), ultimate deflection by (33.6 % and 3.4 %), absorbed energy by (128 % and 20.2 %), and the ultimate strain by (1.1 % and 6.73 %). The stiffness and ductility of the specimens also increased. A
... Show MoreThis study uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to examine the constitutive relationships of the Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) residual tensile strength at elevated temperatures. The objective is to develop an effective model and establish fire performance criteria for concrete structures in fire scenarios. Multilayer networks that employ reactive error distribution approaches can determine the residual tensile strength of GFRP using six input parameters, in contrast to previous mathematical models that utilized one or two inputs while disregarding the others. Multilayered networks employing reactive error distribution technology assign weights to each variable influencing the residual tensile strength of GFRP. Temperatur
... Show MoreThe behavior investigation of castellated beams with fiber-reinforced lightweight concrete deck slab as a modified choice for composite steel-concrete beams affected by harmonic load is presented in this study. The experimental program involved six fixed-supported castellated beams of 2140mm size. Three types of concrete were included: Normal Weight Concrete (NWC), Lightweight Aggregate Concrete (LWAC), and Lightweight Fiber-Reinforced Aggregate Concrete (LWACF). The specimens were divided into two groups: the first comprised three specimens tested under harmonic load effect of 30Hz operation frequency for 3 days, then the residual strength was determined through static load application. The second group included three specimens ide
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study to investigate the behavior of post-tensioned segmental concrete beams that exposed to high-temperature. The experimental program included fabricating and testing twelve simply supported beams that divided into three groups depending on the number of precasting concrete segments. All specimens were prepared with an identical length of 3150 mm and differed in the number of the incorporated segments of the beam (9, 7, or 5 segments). To simulate the genuine fire disasters, nine out of twelve beams were exposed to a high-temperature flame for one hour. Based on the standard fire curve (ASTM – E119), the temperatures of 300◦C (572◦F), 500◦C (932◦F), and 700◦C (1292◦F) were adopted. Consequently,
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study to investigate the behavior of post-tensioned segmental concrete beams that exposed to high-temperature. The experimental program included fabricating and testing twelve simply supported beams that divided into three groups depending on the number of precasting concrete segments. All specimens were prepared with an identical length of 3150 mm and differed in the number of the incorporated segments of the beam (9, 7, or 5 segments). To simulate the genuine fire disasters, nine out of twelve beams were exposed to a high-temperature flame for one hour. Based on the standard fire curve (ASTM – E119), the temperatures of 300◦C (572◦F), 500◦C (932◦F), and 700◦C (1292◦F) were adopted. Consequently,
... Show MoreFlexure members such as reinforced concrete (RC) simply supported beams subjected to two-point loading were analyzed numerically. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment the non-smooth h behaviour such as discontinuities and singularities. This method is a powerful technique used for the analysis of the fracture process and crack propagation in concrete. Concrete is a heterogeneous material that consists of coarse aggregate, cement mortar and air voids distributed in the cement paste. Numerical modeling of concrete comprises a two-scale model, using mesoscale and macroscale numerical models. The effectiveness and validity of the Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) in modeling of the reinforced concrete beams w
... Show More