Comparative Study on Crack width Prediction for Concrete Flexural Members with GFRP Reinforcement

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars are being used as an alternative to steel bars to overcome the corrosion problem. Design criteria and methods have to be reinterpreted for its different properties, and several countries have already established corresponding design codes. The method for predicting crack widths of concrete beams with FRP bars provided in ACI440 is based on the method for that with steel bars. Similarly, a modified method based on GB50010 is proposed in this paper to estimate crack widths of concrete beams with FRP bars. Furthermore, the new method together with ACI440 and GB50010 ones are verified by nine test beams in three existing experiments and most of them show a good agreement with the experimental data. Simultaneously, the new method also proves precise and accurate with the same level as the ACI440 one and indicates its potential to estimate crack width in Chinese concrete code system.