Ductile Concrete Beams with Non-ductile FRP Reinforcement

Description

Concrete is a brittle material with little ductility, thus concrete members achieve ductility and adequate deformation capacity mainly through the tensile straining or yielding of the reinforcement. FRP reinforcement does not yield. This linear elastic property results in a substantial reduction in the ductility of FRP reinforced concrete members. Despite the significant advantages of FRPs, especially the non-corrosive nature that is very attractive in bridge deck construction, the lack of ductility is a serious impediment to the more widespread use of FRPs as a reinforcing material for concrete structures. A novel concept of providing ductility to flexural members through compressive yielding instead of tensile yielding was demonstrated in principle to be effective in the pilot investigation of the PI. The proposed project will further investigate the new structural scheme, aiming at a comprehensive and practical development of the new technology for its application in constructing ductile FRP reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge beams.