Flexural/shear strength of RC beams with longitudinal FRP bars An analytical approach

An analytical methodology for the calculation of the flexural and the shear capacity of concrete members with Fibre-Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) bars as tensional reinforcement is proposed. The flexural analysis is initially based on the design provisions of ACI 440.1R-15 which have properly been modified to develop general charts that simplify computations and provide hand calculations. The specially developed charts include non-dimensional variables and can easily be applied in sections with various geometrical properties, concrete grade and FRP properties. The proposed shear model combines three theoretical considerations to facilitate calculations. A unified flexural/shear approach is developed in flow chart which can be used to estimate the ultimate strength and the expected failure mode of a concrete beam reinforced with longitudinal FRP bars, with or without transverse reinforcement. The proposed methodology is verified using existing experimental data of 138 beams from the literature, and it predicts the load-bearing capacity and the failure mode with satisfactory accuracy.