Moment redistribution in continuous FRP reinforced concrete beams

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to assess moment redistribution in continuous concrete beams reinforced with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. A numerical technique based on equilibrium of forces and full compatibility of strains has been developed to evaluate the moment–curvature relationships and moment capacities of FRP and steel reinforced concrete sections. Moment redistribution has then been assessed by comparing elastic and experimental moments at failure, and moment capacity at critical sections of continuous FRP reinforced concrete beams reported on the literature.

The curvature of under reinforced FRP sections was large at FRP rupture but failure was sudden, that would not allow any moment redistribution. On the other hand, FRP over reinforced sections experienced higher curvature at failure than steel over reinforced sections owing to the lower FRP modulus of elasticity. Although the experimental and elastic bending moment distributions at failure are significantly different for many beams tested elsewhere, in particular CFRP reinforced concrete beams, the experimental bending moment over the middle support at failure was far lower than the corresponding moment capacity owing to the de-bonding of FRP bars from concrete in the middle support region. Furthermore, the hogging moment redistribution over the middle support is always larger than that at mid-span by around 66%. It was also shown that the load capacity prediction of continuous FRP reinforced concrete beams using the de-bonding moment at the middle support section was the closest to the experimental failure load.