Shear strength of one-way concrete slabs reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer composite bars

This paper evaluates the shear strength of one-way concrete slabs reinforced with different types of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. A total of eight full-size slabs were constructed and tested. The slabs were 3,100 mm long x 1,000 mm wide x 200 mm deep. The test parameters were the type and size of FRP reinforcing bars and the reinforcement ratio. Five slabs were reinforced with glass FRP and three were reinforced with carbon FRP bars. The slabs were tested under four-point bending over a simply supported clear span of 2,500 mm and a shear span of 1,000 mm. All the test slabs failed in shear before reaching the design flexural capacity. The experimental shear strengths were compared with some theoretical predictions, including the JSCE recommendations, the CAN/CSA-S806-02 code, and the ACI 440.1R-03 design guidelines. The results. indicated that the ACI 440.1R-03 design method for predicting the concrete shear strength of FRP slabs is very conservative. Better predictions were obtained by both the CAN/CSA-S806-02 code and the JSCE design recommendations.