Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer prestressed prisms as reinforcement in continuous concrete T-beams

This paper describes the behavior of two-span continuous concrete T-beams reinforced with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) prestressed concrete prisms (PCP) at service and ultimate. Companion steel and CFRP-reinforced beams were tested for comparison and to evaluate the effect of reinforcement on beam behavior High-strength concrete prisms were concentrically prestressed by a single CFRP bar and used as main reinforcement in these beams. Theoretical analysis showed superior performance of PCP-reinforced beams before cracking of prisms and higher ductility than MP-reinforced beams at ultimate. Test results confirmed that prior to cracking of the prisms, PCP-reinforced beams had comparable deflection with steel reinforced beams, whereas deflection in the MP-reinforced beams was 2.5 times larger. PCP-reinforced beams exhibited the narrowest crack widths prior to cracking of the prisms. At ultimate, steel-reinforced beams showed the highest ductility and moment redistribution followed by PCP- and MP-reinforced beams.