Abstract
Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar and geopolymer concrete (GPC) are relatively new construction materials that are now been increasingly used in the construction sectors. Both materials exhibit superior structural and durability properties that also make them a sustainable alternative solution. Due to the absence of any design standard for an FRP-reinforced GPC beam, it is important to validate the efficacy of available standards and literature related to other materials, e.g., FRP-reinforced conventional concrete or GPC alone. Four theories/design standards are considered for this comparison—ACI440.1R-15, CAN/CSA S806-12, parabolic stress block theory, and equivalent rectangular stress block theory for GPC under compression. The accuracy of these four approaches is also examined by studying the flexural performance of both the glass FRP (GFRP) and carbon FRP (CFRP). The FRP-reinforced beams are designed against the actual load they will be subjected to in a real-world scenario. It is concluded that parabolic stress block theory over-estimates the capacity, whereas CSA S806-12 yields the most accurate and conservative results. In addition, the flexural performance of the FRP-reinforced beams is evaluated in terms of ultimate, cracking, and service moment capacity, along with serviceable, ultimate, and residual deflection.
Highlights
The durability aspect of geopolymer concrete (GPC) is well established which includes, but is not limited to, low creep, superior resistance against sulphate and acid attack, reduced drying shrinkage, less water absorption, and higher fire resistance and dimensional stability [1,2,3,4,5]
Over-reinforced beams were designed based on both carbon FRP (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP) rebars
The reduction is more for GFRP beams considering the axial rigidity of the bars
Summary
The durability aspect of geopolymer concrete (GPC) is well established which includes, but is not limited to, low creep, superior resistance against sulphate and acid attack, reduced drying shrinkage, less water absorption, and higher fire resistance and dimensional stability [1,2,3,4,5]. The present study compares the flexural behaviour of both CFRP and GFRP-reinforced geopolymer beams in terms of ultimate, cracking, and service moment capacity, along with serviceable, ultimate, and residual deflection. Strain distribution and failure behaviour are reported For this purpose, GFRP and CFRP-reinforced GPC beams were designed, casted, and tested along with normal steel-reinforced OPC concrete beams. This study will compare experimental moment capacities against two of the most commonly used design standards—ACI440.1R-15 [38] and CAN/CSA S809-12 [39] Since these two standards are developed for FRP-reinforced OPC concrete structures, an additional two theoretical models are taken into account, which consider a parabolic stress block [34] and equivalent rectangular stress block [36] for geopolymer concrete under compression. The aim of this project was to select the most accurate design equations while designing FRP-reinforced geopolymer beams
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