• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.120-123
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• 2004

The lap splice lengths of deformed steel reinforcing bars and GFRP bars were experimentally compared using beam specimens. The purpose was to evaluate the length required of the GFRP bar to develop strength at least equivalent to the conventional steel reinforcing bar. The main test variable was the lap splice length: 10, 20, 30 $d_b$ for the deformed steel bars and 20, 30, 40 $d_b$ for the GFRP bars. Two different types of GFRP bars were tested: (1) one with spiral-type deformation and (2) plain round bars. Elastic modulus was about 1/5 of the steel bars while the tensile strength was about 690 MPa for the GFRP bars. Nominal diameter of the GFRP bars and steel bars was 12.7 and 13 mm, respectively. Normal strength concrete (28-day $f_{cu}$ = 30 MPa) was used. For the conventional steel bars (SD400 grade), strength over 400 MPa in tension was developed using the lap splice length of 20 and 30 $f_{cu}$. Only $87\%$ of the nominal yield strength was reached with the lap splice length of 10 $d_b$. For the spiral-type deformed GFRP bars with $40-d_b$ lap splice length, 440 MPa in tension was determined. The maximum tensile strength developed of the GFRP bars with smaller lap splice lengths decreased. The plain GFRP bar was not effective in developing the tensile strength even with $40-d_b$ lap splice length. Development of the cracks on beam surface was clearly visible for the beams reinforced with the GFRP bars. Mid-span deflections, however, were significantly smaller than the comparable beams with conventional steel bars indicating potential ductility problem.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.123-131
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• 2020

The bond performance of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars and that of steel bars embedded in Alkali Activated Cement (AAC) concrete are analysed and compared using pull-out specimens. The bond failure modes, the average bond strength and the free end bond stress-slip curves are used for comparison. Tepfers' concrete ring model is used to further analyse the splitting failure in ribbed steel bar and GFRP bar specimens. The angle the bond forces make with the bar axis was calculated and used for comparing bond behaviour of ribbed steel bar and GFRP bars in AAC concrete. The results showed that bond failure mode plays a significant role in the comparison of the average bond stress of the specimens at failure. In case of pull-out failure mode, specimens with ribbed steel bars showed a higher bond strength while specimens with GFRP bars showed a higher bond stress in case of splitting failure mode. Comparison of the bond stress-slip curves of ribbed steel bars and GFRP bars depicted that the constant bond stress region at the peak is much smaller in case of GFRP bars than ribbed steel bars indicating a basic bond mechanism difference in GFRP and ribbed steel bars.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.449-452
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• 2004

The lap splice lengths of deformed steel reinforcing bars and GFRP bars with two different to surface type were experimentally compared using beam specimens. The purpose was to evaluate the length required of the GFRP bar to develop strength equivalent to the conventional steel reinforcing bar. The main test variable was the lap splice length. Two different GFRP bar surfaces were tested: (1) spiral-type GFRP bars and (2) sand coated GFRP bars. For the conventional steel bars (SD400 grade), strength over 400 MPa in tension was reached using the lap splice length of $30d_b$. Splice failure was observed in the specimen with the lap splice length of $20d_b$. For the spiral-type and sand coated GFRP bars, the tensile strength developed in the GFRP bars decreased with decreasing splice lengths. Development of the cracks on beam surfaces was clearly visible for the beams reinforced with the GFRP bars. Mid-span deflections, however, were significantly smaller than the comparable beams with conventional steel bars indicating potential ductility problem.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.629-637
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• 2017

Continuous concrete beams are commonly used as structural members in the reinforced concrete constructions. The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars provide attractive solutions for these structures particularly for gaining corrosion resistance. This paper presents experimental results of eight two-span continuous concrete beams; two of them reinforced with pure glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars and six of them reinforced with combinations of GFRP and steel bars. The continuous beams were tested under monotonically applied loading condition. The experimental load-deflection behavior and failure mode of the continuous beams were examined. In addition, the continuous beams were analyzed with a numerical method to predict the load-deflection curves and to compare them with the experimental results. Results show that there is a good agreement between the experimental and the theoretical load-deflection curves of continuous beams reinforced with pure GFRP bars and combinations of GFRP and steel bars.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2009

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars are sometimes used when corrosion of conventional reinforcing steel bar is of concern. In this study, a total of 36 beams and one-way slabs reinforced using GFRP bars were tested in flexure. Four different GFRP bars of 13 mm diameter were used in the test program. In most test specimens, the GFRP bars were lap spliced at center. All beams and slabs were tested under 4-point loads so that the spliced region be subject to constant moment. Test variables were splice lengths, cover thicknesses, and bar spacings. No stirrups were used in the spliced region so that the tests result in conservative bond strengths. Average bond stresses that develop between GFRP bars and concrete were determined through nonlinear analysis of the cross-sections. An average bond stress prediction equation was derived utilizing two-variable linear regression. A splice length equation based on 5% fractile concept was then developed. As a result of this study, a rational equation with which design splice lengths of the GFRP bars can be determined, was proposed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.245-260
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• 2015

In this study, nominal moment-axial load interaction diagrams, moment-curvature relationships, and ductility of rectangular hybrid beam-column concrete sections are analyzed using the modified Hognestad concrete model. The hybrid columns are primarily reinforced with steel bars with additional Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) control bars. Parameters investigated include amount, pattern, location, and material properties of concrete, steel, and GFRP. The study was implemented using a user defined comprehensive $MATLAB^{(R)}$ simulation model to find an efficient hybrid section design maximizing strength and ductility. Generating lower bond stresses than steel bars at the concrete interface, auxiliary GFRP bars minimize damage in the concrete core of beam-column sections. Their usage prevents excessive yielding of the core longitudinal bars during frequent moderate cyclic deformations, which leads to significant damage in the foundations of bridges or beam-column spliced sections where repair is difficult and expensive. Analytical results from this study shows that hybrid steel-GFRP composite concrete sections where GFRP is used as auxiliary bars show adequate ductility with a significant increase in strength. Results also compare different design parameters reaching a number of design recommendations for the proposed hybrid section.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.361-373
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• 2022

This paper examines the flexural performance of concrete beams reinforced with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars under fatigue loading. Experiments were carried out on concrete beams of size 1500×200×100 mm reinforced with 10 mm and 13 mm diameter GFRP bars under fatigue loading. Experimental investigations revealed that fatigue loading affects both strength and serviceability properties of GFRP reinforced concrete. Experimental results indicated that (i) the concrete beams experienced increase in deflection with increase in number of cycles and failed suddenly due to snapping of rebars and (ii) the fatigue life of concrete beams drastically decreased with increase in stress level. Analytical model presented a procedure for predicting the deflection of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars under cyclic loading. Deflection of concrete beams was computed by considering the aspects such as stiffness degradation, force equilibrium equations and effective moment of inertia. Nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis was performed on concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars. Appropriate constitutive relationships for concrete and GFRP bars were considered in the numerical modelling. Concrete non linearity has been accounted through concrete damage plasticity model available in ABAQUS. Deflection versus number of cycles obtained experimentally for various beams was compared with the analytical and numerical predictions. It was observed that the predicted values are comparable (less than 20% difference) with the corresponding experimental observations.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

This paper demonstrates an experimental study to evaluate the effects of environmental exposures on the bond between ribbed Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bars and concrete. The equation recommended by ACI 440-1R-06, for the bond stress,was evaluated in this study. A total of 16 pullout samples, 12with GFRP bars and 4with steel bars, were exposed to two different harsh environments for different periods of time. The exposed harsh environments included direct sun exposure and cyclic splash zone sea water. The variation in the shear (bond) strengths before and after exposure was considered as a measure of the durability of the bond between GFRP bars and concrete.Experimental results showed there is no significant difference of the bond strength between 60 and 90 days of exposures.It also showed that the empirical equation of the bond stress calculated by ACI 440-IR-06 is very conservative.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.189-192
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• 2005

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars gain increasingly more attention as a reinforcing option for concrete because of their corrosion resistance and non-magnetism. GFRP reinforcement for concrete does not have the same shape as steel reinforcement. Therefore, the bond performance of FRP bars, unlike that of steel, is dependent on their design, manufacture and mechanical properties. This paper studied the effect of high strength concrete on the bond strength of GFRP bars. Twenty-nine specimens having different compressive strength of concrete were tested in order to examine the bond behavior of GFRP bars.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.305-317
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• 2021

The bond between the concrete and bar is a main factor affecting the performance of the reinforced concrete (RC) members, and since the steel corrosion reduces the bond strength, studying the bond behavior of concrete and GFRP bars is quite necessary. In this research, a database including 112 concrete beam test specimens reinforced with spliced GFRP bars in the splitting failure mode has been collected and used to estimate the concrete-GFRP bar bond strength. This paper aims to accurately estimate the bond strength of spliced GFRP bars in concrete beams by applying three soft computing models including multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), Kriging, and M5 model tree. Since the selection of regularization parameters greatly affects the fitting of MARS, Kriging, and M5 models, the regularization parameters have been so optimized as to maximize the training data convergence coefficient. Three hybrid model coupling soft computing methods and genetic algorithm is proposed to automatically perform the trial and error process for finding appropriate modeling regularization parameters. Results have shown that proposed models have significantly increased the prediction accuracy compared to previous models. The proposed MARS, Kriging, and M5 models have improved the convergence coefficient by about 65, 63 and 49%, respectively, compared to the best previous model.