Finite element analysis of thin GFRC panels reinforced with FRP

Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) incorporating fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bar reinforcement is potentially an ideal composite material for the manufacture of thin structural elements due to its superior durability over GFRC containing conventional steel reinforcement. GFRC without any bar reinforcement has only been used for small units and short spans due to its relatively low flexural strength. Until now, no work has been reported on the use of FRP bars in GFRC. The first part of the paper deals with the stress–strain characteristics of GFRC. In the second part the bond strength of GFRC with both steel and FRP reinforcing bars is determined from a series of 24 pullout tests from which the characteristics of the local bond stress–slip response was established. The results show that the bond of FRP bars in GFRC is, in general, better than the bond in normal concrete, and that conventional numerical models can be used to model the behaviour. The last part of the paper investigates the performance of a 3 m span thin GFRC permanent formwork panel, reinforced with FRP, both experimentally and analytically with finite element (FE) analysis. It is concluded that the behaviour of thin GFRC elements incorporating FRP reinforcement can be predicted by FE analysis in which the GFRC stress–strain characteristics and bond characteristics are modelled with robust spring elements.