Hysteretic performance of prestressed concrete beams with AFRP tendons under cyclic loading

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to evaluate the hysteretic performance of prestressed concrete beams with aramid fiber‐reinforced polymer (AFRP) tendons. Eight beams were constructed and tested under cyclic loading, with test variables covering the type of prestressing tendons (AFRP and steel), the ratio of internal tendons to external tendons (3:0 and 1:2) and the bond condition of internal tendons (fully bonded, partially bonded, and unbonded). Results showed that the failure of all the beams was dominated by concrete crushing and nonprestressed rebars rupturing at pure bending sections. AFRP prestressed beams exhibited commensurate bearing capacity, displacement ductility, energy dissipation and residual deformation with steel prestressed beams. The combination of internal and external tendons, and using unbonded or partially bonded tendons could improve the ductility of AFRP prestressed beams. Additionally, the finite element (FE) models of AFRP prestressed beams were developed using ABAQUS based on the coupling method under the local coordinate system. The simulated results closely matched the experimental results in terms of the failure mode and load–displacement curve. Parametric predictions, including the unbonded length of AFRP tendon, partial prestressing ratio, jacking stress and concrete strength were presented to extend the experimental works.