Advanced Composites as Reinforcement for Concrete

Abstract

Recently, the demand for building concrete structures reinforced with steel rebars is gradually increasing worldwide. The serviceability of these reinforced concrete structures is affected by multiple factors, one of which is exposure to extreme weather conditions. Deterioration of steel rebars is one of the most common issues caused by the harsh environment's weather. The degradation of concrete structure is mainly driven by steel corrosion. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar is considered an innovative and durable choice rather than conventional steel reinforcement for concrete structures. GFRP bars were classified as an excellent corrosion resistance compared to conventional steel due to their mechanical performance. Several researchers have performed numerous studies out to explore the flexural response of GFRP bars. As a result, it is crucial to establish effective FE models that can be employed to comprehend the essential structural behavior of such systems and the performance under applied loads. The flexural behavior of structural reinforced concrete beam components was presented in this study utilizing 3D ANSYS 21 FEA simulation. This study compares an FE model with experimental findings from previous works and the ACI 440.1 model. Graphical representations were discussed, including the deflection of the mid-span stress-strain relationship. The specimens are rectangular beams that are simply supported and have spans and clear spans of 2.4 m and 2.1 m. A four-point pseudo-static experiment was performed on the samples. The findings indicate that fibre-reinforced composites can be evaluated using ANSYS software with an adjusted model. The difference between FEA model results, experimental tests, and ACI 440.1 theoretical formulas predicting failure loads is within a 10% margin of error. The results have demonstrated the ACI 440.1 code conservatism compared to the remainder of the results obtained from environmental findings or FE simulations.