Mechanical performance of CFRP enclosed reinforced concrete beams by different shear reinforcement

Abstract

This paper aims to study the flexural behavior of CFRP enclosed reinforced concrete beams with different shear reinforcement. Four-point bending tests were carried out on six concrete beams with different contents of steel fibers (0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%) as well as six beams with different stirrup spacing (100 mm, 150 mm, and 300 mm) without fiber. The effect of steel fiber (SF) content as well as stirrup spacing on flexural properties of concrete beams were investigated. Meanwhile, the effect of expansive agent on the properties of specimens was also studied. The data collected in this test include cracking load, ultimate load, mid-span deflection, strain of CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced polymer), strain of longitudinal steel reinforcement as well as the failure modes. Test results show that both cracking loads and ultimate loads of the SF reinforced beam specimens are generally higher than those of the corresponding stirrup reinforced beam specimens. Experimental results also indicate that the addition of SF can improve the ductility and cracking resistance of specimens. This therefore demonstrates that it is feasible to replace stirrup reinforcement with SF as shear reinforcement. In addition, it exhibits a good agreement between experimental results and analytical predictions in cracking loads and ultimate loads.