Performance of FRP-Confined Reinforced Concrete Beams Integrated with Solar Cells

In recent years, the use of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials in civil engineering has attracted increasing attention. The objective of this study is to develop innovative FRP-confined concrete beams integrated with solar cells, where FRP can be used as both adhesive to bond solar cells and element to strengthen the beam. To this end, eight concrete beams confined with three-side FRP shells were fabricated, where the two vertical FRP plates act as shear reinforcement and the flat FRP plate acts as tensile (Group T) or compressive (Group C) reinforcement. Solar cells were bonded to the flat FRP plates. Four-point bending tests were conducted on all beams. Load–deflection and load–strain data were recorded. The performance of the solar cells was evaluated by taking multiple measurements of J–V characteristics at different loads. Finite Element analysis was conducted to correlate with the experimental results. It can be concluded that the beams assumed linear behavior until the debonding of the FRP occurred. The solar cells worked normally until failure. Therefore, the solar cells can be attached to FRP-confined beams to harvest solar energy.