Reliability-based bond design for GFRP-reinforced concrete

Abstract

Most of proposed models available so far associated with the evaluation of design embedded length of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rods in concrete are not reliability-based. This paper made an attempt, from the probabilistic standpoint, to determine the design embedded length of a glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rod in the case of splitting bond failure from concrete. The mathematical model put forward by Orangun et al. for evaluating the average bond strength of reinforcing bars in concrete for splitting failure has been adopted to develop the nonlinear limit state function corresponding to GFRP’s splitting bond failure in which five independent random variables, i.e. concrete strength, GFRP tensile strength, embedded length, GFRP diameter and computational uncertainty factor, are included. As the result of the probabilistic calibration procedures using the Rackwitz–Fiessler method, a non-dimensional factor K associated closely with the design embedded length of a GFRP rod in concrete is proposed to be 0.0306 with the suggested additional target reliability index of 1.10. The effects of some factors on GFRP’s design embedded length have been identified through the following parametric study. Although the calibration process is case-dependent to some extent, the proposed formula is thought to be acceptable for general bond design purposes of GFRP-reinforced concrete components.