Flexural behaviour of RC beams substituted with GFRP reinforcement in aggressive environments

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) in aggressive environments has higher concrete clear cover provided to protect the reinforcement against corrosion. However, providing such higher cover in severe environments could result in increased crack widths for the structural member. Hence, using a combination of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars and steel reinforcement bars (hybrid reinforcement) has been considered as a suitable solution to develop the full flexural capacity of the section without significantly affecting the serviceability and ductility requirements. This includes utilising the non-corrodible nature of FRP by adding a layer of longitudinal reinforcement made of FRP bars at the corner areas of the cross-section and keeping the main steel reinforcement at sufficient cover depth. This paper studies the flexural behaviour of hybrid glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams consisting of continuous GFRP bars along with conventional steel reinforcement and comparing them with conventional RC beams through experimental and analytical studies. The test results indicated that the hybrid GFRP beams possess better flexural strength and ductility compared to conventional RC beams and could be considered as a suitable alternative to replace RC beams in aggressive environments.