FRP Reinforcing Bars in Reinforced Concrete Members

The paper presents a preliminary experimental study on the behavior of concrete members reinforced with FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) reinforcing bars, in which both the bending capacity and bond strength of FRP-reinforced concrete specimens were tested. Flexural behavior was studied by testing 6 simply supported FRP-reinforced beams to failure under third-point loading, while bond strength was investigatged by conducting 24 pullout tests. Experimental results showed that the FRP-reinforced beams behaved in the same manner as would be expected in beams reinforced with steel bars. Also, strength design methods for steel-reinforced beams adequately predict ultimate moment capacity of FRP-reinforced beams. These and other findings are presented and discussed.