Finite element analysis of beam-column joint behaviour utilizing glass fiber reinforced polymer bars and geopolymer concrete

Abstract

The important areas in an earthquake-prone reinforced concrete building are the beam-column joints. Therefore, the design of beam-column joints requires for extremely ductile materials, because during an earthquake, the moment carrying capacity and shear strength of the beam-column joint are reduced, which leads to failure. There has been a lot of interest from around the world in using bars made of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) as internal reinforcement for concrete constructions working in severely difficult situations. In addition, geopolymer cement is currently gaining a lot of attention as a possible replacement for conventional portland cement (OPC), because there are no CO2 emissions produced during its manufacture. But there hasn't been enough scientific investigation to demonstrate the advantages of combining these materials in actual infrastructure, which is the primary motivation behind this study. From the earlier research work till now, it is observed that analysis of beam column joints is done using FRP-RC and S-RGC systems which are usually over reinforced. So the aim of this research work is to study the benefits of the Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer Bars and Geopolymer Concrete (GFRP-RGC) system in actual infrastructure. The experimental study is very costly and time consuming. Nowadays, it is becoming increasingly important to analyse different structural components using finite element analysis (FEA). In this study, finite element method is used to analyze the beam column joint. For that, the published experimental results first compared with finite element results of beam using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer Bars and Geopolymer Concrete (GFRP-RGC) system. Based on this, it was cleared that experimental results and finite elements are approximately equal. Then analysis of RCC building was done in Etabs software for Dead load, live load, and Earthquake load to identify critical joints. Further study was undertaken for critical joints for axial forces, shear forces and bending moment in ANSYS using GFRP-RGC system by the same process.