Flexural capacity of concrete beams reinforced with basalt fibre rebars

Abstract

An effort to find an alternative for conventional steel in concrete by researchers leads to study the behaviour of basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars in concrete. In the present study the flexural behaviour of basalt fibre reinforced polymerconcrete beams. The tension test on BFRP bars demonstrated that BFRP bars have nearly three times high tensile strength, low modulus of elasticity of nearly one-fourth of conventional steel bars and alsothe stress-strain behaviour is linearwithout any yield point up to failure. In the present study, flexural behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with BFRP rebars comparing with reference beams made with conventional steel reinforcement. Load carrying capacity, deflection at midspan and mode of cracking is observed. The beam with flexural BFRP reinforcement has load capacity of 46.7 kN whereas for beam with steel rebars has flexural load capacity of 37.6 kN. Deflections of BFRP reinforced concrete beams at midspan during failure is 14mm considerably more than the steel reinforced beam deflection which is 5.6mm, due to much lower modulus of elasticity of BFRP rebars when compared to steel rebars. Average width of cracks at failure in BFRP concrete beams nearly 4 times higher than in the reference steel concrete beams.