Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flexural Behaviour of GFRP Reinforced Concrete Beams using ANSYS

Abstract The construction industry has made extensive use of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars to improve structural strength and stop corrosion. High tensile strength-to-weight ratio, non-conductivity, electromagnetic resistance, and robust fatigue resistance are some advantages of GFRP bars. In reinforced concrete projects, GFRP bars are stronger, lighter, and more corrosion-resistant than traditional steel-reinforced bars. This work examines the flexural behaviour of a concrete beam reinforced with GFRP bars by experimental, computational, and analytical methods. Using IS 18256:2023 and IS 456:2000, two 150x150x700 mm GFRP Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams that were doubly-reinforced with 12 mm diameter, 660 mm long GFRP rebars, and 6 mm diameter, 3/4 in steel stirrups were tested under four-point loading conditions in a loading frame with a 40 T capacity. The beam model element type is BEAM188, while the concrete model element type is SOLID65. Nonlinear numerical modelling of GFRP RC beams is done with ANSYS APDL. This study's primary goal is to examine the behaviour of load versus deflection, the mode of failure, and the impact of concrete strength and reinforcement ratio on the crack width of GFRP RC beams. A comparison between the numerical and analytical analysis and the experimental mid-span deflection was made. The experimental results were in agreement with the deflection predicted by the computer analysis. Numerical analysis, codes ACI 440.1R CSA S806, and the suggested approach were used to compare the experimental data. There was a strong correlation between the experimental results and the suggested approach and numerical analysis.