Behaviour of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Bars

Due to the linear elastic behaviour of FRP bars, the flexural behaviour of FRP reinforced beams exhibits no ductility as occurs in the steel reinforced structures. In this paper, study of the enhancement of the behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars was carried out by testing nine beams reinforced with locally produced hybrid fiber reinforced polymer (HFRP) bars. The used hybrid fibers were aramid-glass and carbon-glass. Some of test specimens were reinforced by FRP bars provided with anchorages along the bar length. Crack patterns, cracking and ultimate loads, and deformation were observed and recorded for all tested beams. The effect of using the hybrid fiber reinforced bars and the bar anchorage system were judged by comparing the behaviour of the tested beams by two reference specimens, one reinforced by GFRP bars and the other one reinforced by traditional steel bars. The comparison revealed that HFRP bars provided with the used bars anchorage played a significant role in enhancing the behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011