Flexural Characteristics of Concrete Beams Reinforced with a New Type of GFRP Bar

Beam tests were conducted to investigate the characteristics of a newly developed type of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebar as reinforcement in flexural concrete members. Nine beams over-reinforced with different types of rebar, and with varying reinforcement ratios and depths of concrete cover, were monotonically loaded up to failure. Results were characterised by failure mode, moment–curvature, flexural capacity, load–deflection, and crack width. The test results were compared with the theoretical model and the American Concrete Institute design guide, which showed that the performance of the newly- developed GFRP rebar was comparable to commercially available GFRP rebars. In addition, a theoretical model for moment–curvature and an equation for predicting the flexural capacity of the beams with multiple layers of GFRP rebar are presented, based on the experimental observations.