• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2017

Utilizing composite members in structures has been considered by many researchers in the past few decades. Using FRP can be very effective owing to its excessively high-tensile strength, which compensate concrete weak performance in tension. In this research, the studied composite beam includes a GFRP semi-confined trapezoidal section covered by GFRP and concrete layers. To assess the bearing capacity, a finite-element model of a composite beam subjected to displacement control loading has been developed and the results were validated using experimental results found throughout the literature. Several parameters affecting the bending performance and behavior of the semi-confined beam have been investigated in this study. Some of these parameters included the thickness of GFRP trapezoidal section members, concrete layer thickness, GFRP layer thickness and the confinement degree of the beam. The results revealed that the beam confinement had the highest effect on the bearing capacity due to prevention of separation of concrete from GFRP which causes the failure of the beam. From the results obtained, an optimal model of primary beam section has been introduced, which provides a higher bearing capacity with the same volume of materials used in the original beam section.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.485-495
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• 2018

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the structural performance of an innovative GFRP-concrete composite beam construction, which is reinforced with longitudinal GFRP pultruded box-profile and transverse steel stirrups. GFRP perfobond (PBL) shear connectors are employed to enhance the bonding performance between the GFRP profile and the concrete portion. To investigate the shear and flexural performance of this composite system, eight specimens were designed and tested under three-point and four-point bending. The main variables were the height of the composite beam and the shear span-to-depth ratio. The test results indicated that bonding cracks did not occur at the interface between the GFRP profile and the concrete until the final stage of the test. This shows that the specimens performed well as composite beams during the test and that the GFRP PBL connectors were reliable. Based on the test results, two calculation methods were used to determine the flexural and shear capacity of the composite beams. A comparative study of the test and theoretical results suggests that the proposed methods can reasonably predict both the flexural and shear capacities of the specimens, whereas the provisions of ACI 440 are relatively conservative on both counts.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.595-606
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• 2018

A calculation method was presented to calculate the deflection of GFRP-concrete-steel beams with full or partial shear connections. First, the sectional analysis method was improved by considering concrete nonlinearity and shear connection stiffness variation along the beam direction. Then the equivalent slip strain was used to take into consideration of variable cross-sections. Experiments and nonlinear finite element analysis were performed to validate the calculation method. The experimental results showed the deflection of composite beams could be accurately predicted by using the theoretical model or the finite element simulation. Furthermore, more finite element models were established to verify the accuracy of the theoretical model, which included different GFRP plates and different numbers of shear connectors. The theoretical results agreed well with the numerical results. In addition, parametric studies using theoretical method were also performed to find out the effect of parameters on the deflection. Based on the parametric studies, a simplified calculation formula of GFRP-concrete-steel composite beam was exhibited. In general, the calculation method could provide a more accurate theoretical result without complex finite element simulation, and serve for the further study of continuous GFRP-concrete-steel composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2022

The need for establishing the contribution of pultruded FRP encasements and additional FRP wraps around these encasements to the shear strength and load-deflection behavior of reinforced concrete beams is the main motivation of the present study. This paper primarily focuses on the effect of additional wrapping around the composite beam on the flexural and shear behavior of the pultruded GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) beams infilled with reinforced concrete, taking into account different types of failure according to av/H ratio (arch action, shear-tension, shear-compression and pure bending). For this purpose, nine hybrid beams with variable shear span-to-depth ratio (av/H) were tested. Hybrid beams with 500 mm, 1000 mm, and 1500 mm lengths and cross-sections of 150x100 mm and 100x100 mm were tested under three-point and four-point loading. Based on the testing load-displacement relationship, ductility ratio, energy dissipation capacity of the beams were evaluated with comprehensive macro damage analysis on pultruded GFRP profile and GFRP wrapping. The GFRP wraps were established to have a major contribution to the composite beam ductility (90-125%) and strength (40-75%) in all ranges of beam behavior (shear-dominated or dominated by the coupling of shear and flexure). The composite beams with wraps were showns to reach ductilities and strength values of their counterparts with much greater beam depth.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.937-949
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• 2016

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) applications in the structural engineering field include concrete-FRP composite systems, where FRP components are either attached to or embedded into concrete structures to improve their structural performance. This paper presents the results of an analytical study conducted using finite element model (FEM) to simulate the behavior of three-points load beam reinforced with GFRP and/or steel bars. To calibrate the FEM, a small-scale experimental program was carried out using six reinforced concrete beams with $200{\times}200mm$ cross section and 1000 mm length cast and tested under three point bending load. The six beams were divided into three groups, each group contained two beams. The first group was a reference beams which was cast without any reinforcement, the second group concrete beams was reinforced using GFRP, and the third group concrete beams was reinforced with steel bars. Nonlinear finite element simulations were executed using ANSYS software package. The difference between the theoretical and experimental results of beams vertical deflection and beams crack shapes were within acceptable degree of accuracy. Parametric study using the calibrated model was carried out to evaluate two parameters (1) effect of number and position of longitudinal main bars on beam behavior; (2) performance of concrete beam with composite longitudinal reinforcement steel and GFRP bars.

• 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.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.313-326
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• 2020

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars have been introduced as an effective alternative for the conventional steel reinforcement in concrete structures to mitigate the costly consequences of steel corrosion. However, despite the superior performance of these composite materials in terms of corrosion, the effect of replacing steel reinforcement with GFRP on the seismic performance of concrete structures is not fully covered yet. To address some of the key parameters in the seismic behavior of GFRP-reinforced concrete (RC) structures, two full-scale beam-column joints reinforced with GFRP bars and stirrups were constructed and tested under two phases of loading, each simulating a severe ground motion. The objective was to investigate the effect of damage due to earthquakes on the service and ultimate behavior of GFRP-RC moment-resisting frames. The main parameters under investigation were geometrical configuration (interior or exterior beam-column joint) and joint shear stress. The performance of the specimens was measured in terms of lateral load-drift response, energy dissipation, mode of failure and stress distribution. Moreover, the effect of concrete damage due to earthquake loading on the performance of beam-column joints under service loading was investigated and a modified damage index was proposed to quantify the magnitude of damage in GFRP-RC beam-column joints under dynamic loading. Test results indicated that the geometrical configuration significantly affects the level of concrete damage and energy dissipation. Moreover, the level of residual damage in GFRP-RC beam-column joints after undergoing lateral displacements was related to reinforcement ratio of the main beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.845-865
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• 2022

In this study, the performance of shear deficient reinforced concrete (RC) beams with rectangular cross-sections, which were externally bonded reinforced (EBR) with high strength CFRP and GFRP strips composite along shear spans, has been experimentally and analytically investigated under vertical load. In the study, the minimum CFRP and GFRP strips width over spacing were considered. The shear beam with turned end to a bending beam was investigated by applying different composite strips. Therefore various arising in each of strength, ductility, rigidity, and energy dissipation capacity were obtained. A total of 12 small-scaled experimental programs have been performed. Beam dimensions have been taken as 100×150×1000 mm. Four beams have been tested as unstrengthened samples. This paper focuses on the effect of minimum CFRP and GFRP strip width on behaviours of RC beams shear-strengthened with full-wrapping, U-wrapping, and U-wrapping+longitudinal bonding strips. Strengthened beams showed significant increments for flexural ductility, energy dissipation, and inelastic performance. The full wrapping strips applied against shear failure have increased the load-carrying capacity of samples 53%-63% interval rate. Although full wrapping is the best strengthening choice, the U-wrapping and U-wrapping+longitudinal strips of both CFRP and GFRP bonding increased the shear capacity by 53%~75% compared to the S2 sample. In terms of ductility, the best result has been obtained by the type of strengthening where the S5 beam was completely GFRP wrapped. The experimental results were also compared with the analytically given by ACI440.2R-17, TBEC-2019 and FIB-2001. Especially in U-wrapped beams, the estimation of FIB was determined to be 81%. The estimates of the other codes are far from meeting the experimental results; therefore, essential improvements should be applied to the codes, especially regarding CFRP and GFRP deformation and approaches for longitudinal strip connections. According to the test results, it is suggested that GFRP, which is at least as effective but cheaper than CFRP, may be preferred for strengthening applications.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.57-75
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• 2014

This paper presents an analysis of the results of an experimental program on the performance of a novel configuration of a hybrid FRP-concrete beam. The beam section consists of a GFRP pultruded profile, a CFRP laminate, and a concrete block all wrapped up using filament winding. It was found that the thickness of the concrete block and the confinement by the filament-wound wrapping had a profound effect on the energy dissipation behaviour of the beam. Using a shear punching model, and comparing the predicted results with the experimental ones, it was found that beyond a given value of the concrete block thickness, the deformational behaviour of the beam shifts from brittle to ductile. It was also found that the filament-wound wrap had many benefits such as providing a composite action between the concrete block and the GFRP box, improving the stiffness of the beam, and most importantly, enhancing the load carrying ability through induced confinement of the concrete.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.1015-1024
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• 2015

An experiment of composite beam was performed which utilized glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) plank as the permanent formwork with cast-in-place high strength concrete. This research analyzed the flexural failure behavior of composite beam by setting the sand coated at GFRP bottom surface, the perforation and interval of the GFRP plank web, and the width of the top flange as the experimental variables. As a result of the experiments for effectiveness of sand attachment in case of not perforated web, approximately 43% higher ultimate load value was obtained when the sand was coated than not coated case. For effectiveness of perforation and interval of gap, approximately 23% higher maximum load value was seen when interval of the perforation gap was 3 times and the fine aggregate was not coated, and approximately 11% higher value was observed when the perforation gap was 5 times on the coated specimen. For effectiveness of top flange breadth, the ultimate load value was approximately 12% higher in case of 20mm than 40mm width.