Experimental investigation on shear capacity of RC beams with GFRP rebar & stirrups

This paper presents experimental results of advanced investigation carried out on the beams reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rebar and stirrups. Twelve beams reinforced with GFRP and one beam with steel reinforcement of size 230 x 300 x 2000 mm were investigated. Longitudinal reinforcement, shear span and spacing of stirrups were the main variables to form the set. In advanced testing three types of strain gauges for steel, composite and concrete surface were applied to observe strain/stress development against the applied load. Live data were recorded from four strain gauges applied on stirrups, one at center on longitudinal reinforcement, two on the concrete surface and central deflection during the test. Although the focus of the paper was mainly on the behavior of GFRP shear reinforcement, other parallel data were observed for the completeness of the test. Design recommendations of ISIS Canada Design Manual (2007), Japan Society of Civil Engineers (1997) and American Concrete Institute (ACI-440.1R-06) were reviewed. Shear design predictions were compared with experimental results in which it was observed that all the three standards provided conservative predictions. However, ACI found most efficient compare to other two there is room to improve the efficiency of the recommendations.