DEFORMABILITY VERSUS DUCTILITY IN CONCRETE BEAMS WITH FRP REINFORCEMENT

Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) are being suggested as an alternative to steel as reinforcement for concrete structures. Because FRP reinforcements do not exhibit any plastic behaviour prior to failure, the behaviour of an FRP reinforced section is different than a steel reinforced concrete section. This paper considers the different behaviour of these sections with particular reference to moment capacity, curvature and area of reinforcement. A new concept of deformability versus ductility is discussed and a method of design comparison is suggested based on considerations of strength and deformability, rather than ductility. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E104933.