Commercially available glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) off-the-shelf structural shapes have great potential as stay-in-place open structural forms for concrete structures, including bridge decks and girders. The system simplifies and accelerates construction, and the non-corrosive GFRP forms can fully or partially replace steel rebar. In this study, eight concrete slabs were constructed using flat pultruded GFRP plates, and nine girders were constructed using trapezoidal pultruded GFRP sheet pile sections as stay-in-place structural forms. No tension steel reinforcement was used. All specimens were tested in four-point monotonic uniaxial bending. Four adhesive and mechanical bond mechanisms were explored to accomplish composite action. The most effective mechanism, considering structural performance and ease of fabrication, was wet adhesive bonding of fresh concrete to GFRP. Although failure was by debonding, no slip was observed prior to failure. Other parameters studied were concrete slabs’ thicknesses and their shear span-to-depth ratios. For the girders, three different cross-sectional configurations were examined, namely, totally filled sheet piles, one with a voided concrete fill, and an all-GFRP box girder developed by bonding flat GFRP sheets to the upper flanges of the sheet piles with a cast-in-place concrete flange. Girders were tested in positive and negative bending to simulate continuity. The built-up box girders showed superior performance, with up to 70% higher strength and 65% lower weight than the totally filled sections. It was found that similar size conventional steel-reinforced concrete sections of comparable stiffness have considerably lower strength, while those of comparable strength have considerably higher stiffness than FRP-concrete members. An analytical model was developed to predict the behaviour and failure loads of slabs and girders, using cracked section analysis. A unique feature of the model is a multi-stepped failure criteria check that can detect flexural, shear, or bond failure. The model was successfully validated using the experimental results, and used in a parametric study. It was shown that using the typical value of 1MPa for shear strength of cement mortar predicts debonding failure, which occurs slightly above the interface, quite well. Also, in practical applications of longer spans, flexural failure is likely to occur prior to bond failure. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-14 15:12:48.405

Masonry walls subjected to out-of-plane loading, such as in a seismic event, require reinforcement to improve the ductility of the system. In current masonry construction practice, reinforcement is placed internally and fully grouted. For new construction this can make the wall unjustifiably heavy by not taking advantage of its light, hollow structure. For existing construction, it is difficult to retrofit using this technique. Additionally, the reinforcement is located close to the neutral axis which reduces its effectiveness. Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars, strips and sheets are becoming increasingly popular in construction applications due to their noncorrosive nature and ease of installation. Also, stainless steel bars are used where the structure is exposed to a corrosive environment but have not found wider application for masonry structures. This study is an experimental investigation of the structural performance of masonry walls reinforced with Near-Surface-Mounted (NSM) FRP and stainless steel reinforcement under out-of-plane bending. Additionally, walls with Externally Bonded (EB) FRP sheets were tested. The study simulates retrofitting applications and also proposes the NSM technique for new wall construction, using pre-grooved blocks, in lieu of the conventional method of internal reinforcing and grouting. To accommodate the NSM reinforcement, the grooves in the masonry blocks were aligned with ducts used to anchor the NSM reinforcement in the concrete footing. Seven wall specimens were tested, including walls reinforced with conventional and stainless steel bars, glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP), and carbon-FRP (CFRP) reinforcement. The study demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the NSM technique for new construction. Walls with NSM reinforcement showed a superior performance to those with EB reinforcement. It was shown that increasing the FRP reinforcement ratio may result in a change of failure mode, and as such, the increase in strength may not be proportional to the increase in reinforcement ratio. NSM steel-reinforced walls showed a superior performance in terms of strength, stiffness and the ductility associated with the formation of a plastic hinge at the base. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-05-31 06:24:20.976

Bridge expansion joints are directly subjected to traffic load, and thus prone to premature fatigue failure. Replacement of components such as modular bridge expansion joints is typically done in a staggered schedule to minimize traffic blockage. Field splices are used to connect the successively installed segments. These splices typically include a combination of field welding or bolting, and experience has shown that they often fail due to fatigue cracking. This thesis reports the investigation of hybrid FRP/steel splice details that avoid the use of field welding. Two configurations have been examined: A GFRP pultruded square tube section, adhesively bonded to the soffit of the spliced beam, consists the moment resisting component in one configuration, whereas the other takes advantage of two series of FRP plates for this purpose. Bolted steel plates splice the beam through web in both cases. The behaviour of these details has been studied extensively under vertical static loads. The effect of several parameters including bond length, FRP end shape, bond surface treatment, adhesive, etc. for each detail has been investigated. A three-dimensional, non-linear finite element model has been developed for each detail and validated using the experimental results. The bond strength of two adhesives was investigated experimentally using double shear lap splice tests. A new method is proposed to analyze the strength of the splice details. This method is based on the results obtained from shear lap splice tests and the verified finite element model developed for the splice detail. The finite element model could thus be used for further parametric studies. More experiments, however, are statistically required before using this model with confidence. The fatigue behaviour of one of the promising splice details has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. A special fatigue test set-up has been designed and used successfully for this purpose. Two fatigue tests to 1,000,000 cycles were run. One failed at 719, 347 cycles and the other survived 1,000,000 cycles. The predicted fatigue life as per the developed model was 871,840 cycles. More experiments are required to understand the fatigue behaviour of the splice detail under various stress ranges. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-11-30 16:53:07.385

The non-corrodible nature of FRP bars along with their high strength, light weight and ease of installation made it attractive as reinforcement especially for structures exposed to aggressive environment. In addition, the transparency of FRP bars to magnetic and electrical fields makes them an ideal alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in applications sensitive to electromagnetic fields such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units. Continuous concrete beams are commonly-used elements in structures such as parking garages and overpasses, which might be exposed to extreme weather conditions and the application of de-icing salts. In such structures, using the non-corrodible FRP bars is a viable alternative to avoid steel-corrosion problems. However, the linear-elastic behaviour of FRP materials makes the ability of continuous beams to redistribute loads and moments questionable. The objective of this research project is to investigate the flexural behaviour of continuous concrete beams reinforced with FRP and their capability of moment redistribution. An experimental program was conducted at the University of Manitoba to realize the research objectives. Ten full-scale continuous concrete beams were constructed and tested to failure in the laboratory. The specimens had a rectangular cross-section of 200×300 mm and continuous over two spans of 2,800 mm each. The main investigated parameters were the amount and material of longitudinal reinforcement, the amount and material of transverse reinforcement and the spacing of used stirrups. The experimental results showed that moment redistribution in FRP-reinforced continuous concrete beams is possible if the reinforcement configuration is chosen properly, and is improved by increasing the amount of transverse reinforcement. A finite element investigation was conducted using ANSYS-software. A 3-D model was created to simulate the behaviour of continuous beams reinforced with FRP. The model was verified against the experimental results obtained from the present study. This verified model was used to investigate the effect of the concrete compressive strength, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, midspan-to-middle support reinforcement ratio and the amount of transverse reinforcement on the behaviour of FRP-reinforced beams. The analytical results of this parametric investigation along with the experimental results were used to propose an allowable limit for moment redistribution in FRP-reinforced continuous concrete beams.

The use of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as an alternate to steel has proved to be an effective solution to the corrosion problem. However, FRP bars have low axial and transverse stiffness compared to steel bars which results in a lower shear capacity of FRP reinforced concrete (RC) elements compared to steel-RC elements. Flat plate systems are commonly used to take advantages of the absence of beams. They, however, are susceptible to punching shear failure where the column suddenly punches through the slab. An experimental program was conducted to investigate the punching shear behaviour of slab-column edge connections. Nine isolated full-scale slab-column edge connections were constructed and tested to failure. One connection was reinforced with steel flexural reinforcement, six with GFRP flexural reinforcement and two with GFRP flexural and shear reinforcement. The parameters investigated were the flexural reinforcement type and ratio, the moment-to-shear ratio and the shear reinforcement spacing.

In the past few years, some experimental investigations have been conducted to verify seismic behaviour of fiber reinforced polymer reinforced concrete (FRP-RC) beam-column joints. Those researches were mainly focused on exterior beam-column joints without lateral beams. However, lateral beams, commonly exist in buildings, can significantly improve seismic performance of the joints. Moreover, the way the longitudinal beam bars are anchored in the joint, either using headed-end or bent bars, was not adequately addressed. This study aims to fill these gaps and investigate the shear capacity of FRP-RC exterior beam-column joints confined with lateral beams, and the effect of beam reinforcement anchorage on their seismic behaviour. Six full-scale exterior beam-column joints were constructed and tested to failure under reversal cyclic loading. Test results showed that the presence of lateral beams significantly increased the shear capacity of the joints. Moreover, replacing bent bars with headed-end bars resulted in more ductile behaviour of the joints.

The non-corrodible nature of FRP bars along with their high strength, light weight and ease of installation made it attractive as reinforcement especially for structures exposed to aggressive environment. In addition, the transparency of FRP bars to magnetic and electrical fields makes them an ideal alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in applications sensitive to electromagnetic fields such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units. Continuous concrete beams are commonly-used elements in structures such as parking garages and overpasses, which might be exposed to extreme weather conditions and the application of de-icing salts. In such structures, using the non-corrodible FRP bars is a viable alternative to avoid steel-corrosion problems. However, the linear-elastic behaviour of FRP materials makes the ability of continuous beams to redistribute loads and moments questionable. The objective of this research project is to investigate the flexural behaviour of continuous concrete beams reinforced with FRP and their capability of moment redistribution. An experimental program was conducted at the University of Manitoba to realize the research objectives. Ten full-scale continuous concrete beams were constructed and tested to failure in the laboratory. The specimens had a rectangular cross-section of 200×300 mm and continuous over two spans of 2,800 mm each. The main investigated parameters were the amount and material of longitudinal reinforcement, the amount and material of transverse reinforcement and the spacing of used stirrups. The experimental results showed that moment redistribution in FRP-reinforced continuous concrete beams is possible if the reinforcement configuration is chosen properly, and is improved by increasing the amount of transverse reinforcement. A finite element investigation was conducted using ANSYS-software. A 3-D model was created to simulate the behaviour of continuous beams reinforced with FRP. The model was verified against the experimental results obtained from the present study. This verified model was used to investigate the effect of the concrete compressive strength, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, midspan-to-middle support reinforcement ratio and the amount of transverse reinforcement on the behaviour of FRP-reinforced beams. The analytical results of this parametric investigation along with the experimental results were used to propose an allowable limit for moment redistribution in FRP-reinforced continuous concrete beams.

Appropriate transverse confinement can significantly improve strength, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete columns, therefore enhancing their seismic resistance. This study is conducted to evaluate the seismic behaviour of concrete columns transversely confined by steel spirals, ties or fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping. In the experimental program of this study, fifteen circular concrete columns of 356 mm (14 in.) diameter and 1473 mm (58 in.) length were tested under lateral cyclic displacement excursions while simultaneously subjected to constant axial load thus simulating earthquake loads. Eight columns were solely confined by various amounts of steel spirals, while seven other columns containing only minimal steel spirals were retrofitted by external FRP wrapping. Test results revealed that the increased transverse confinement can improve the energy dissipation capacity, ductility, deformability and flexural strength of concrete columns. The required transverse confinement should also be enhanced with the increase of axial load level to satisfy certain seismic design criterion. A computation program was developed to conduct monotonic pushover analysis for confined concrete columns, which can predict the envelope curves of moment vs. curvature and shear vs. deflection hysteresis loops with reasonable accuracy for columns subjected to simulated seismic loading. Based on extensive numerical analysis, expressions were developed for the relationships between the amount of transverse confinement and different ductility parameters, as well as the strength enhancement of confined columns. Finally, design procedures to determine the amount of transverse confinement were developed for concrete columns to achieve a certain ductility target. The enhancement of flexural strength of columns due to transverse confinement was also evaluated.

Appropriate transverse confinement can significantly improve strength, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete columns, therefore enhancing their seismic resistance. This study is conducted to evaluate the seismic behaviour of concrete columns transversely confined by steel spirals, ties or fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping. In the experimental program of this study, fifteen circular concrete columns of 356 mm (14 in.) diameter and 1473 mm (58 in.) length were tested under lateral cyclic displacement excursions while simultaneously subjected to constant axial load thus simulating earthquake loads. Eight columns were solely confined by various amounts of steel spirals, while seven other columns containing only minimal steel spirals were retrofitted by external FRP wrapping. Test results revealed that the increased transverse confinement can improve the energy dissipation capacity, ductility, deformability and flexural strength of concrete columns. The required transverse confinement should also be enhanced with the increase of axial load level to satisfy certain seismic design criterion. A computation program was developed to conduct monotonic pushover analysis for confined concrete columns, which can predict the envelope curves of moment vs. curvature and shear vs. deflection hysteresis loops with reasonable accuracy for columns subjected to simulated seismic loading. Based on extensive numerical analysis, expressions were developed for the relationships between the amount of transverse confinement and different ductility parameters, as well as the strength enhancement of confined columns. Finally, design procedures to determine the amount of transverse confinement were developed for concrete columns to achieve a certain ductility target. The enhancement of flexural strength of columns due to transverse confinement was also evaluated.

In the past few years, some experimental investigations have been conducted to verify seismic behaviour of fiber reinforced polymer reinforced concrete (FRP-RC) beam-column joints. Those researches were mainly focused on exterior beam-column joints without lateral beams. However, lateral beams, commonly exist in buildings, can significantly improve seismic performance of the joints. Moreover, the way the longitudinal beam bars are anchored in the joint, either using headed-end or bent bars, was not adequately addressed. This study aims to fill these gaps and investigate the shear capacity of FRP-RC exterior beam-column joints confined with lateral beams, and the effect of beam reinforcement anchorage on their seismic behaviour. Six full-scale exterior beam-column joints were constructed and tested to failure under reversal cyclic loading. Test results showed that the presence of lateral beams significantly increased the shear capacity of the joints. Moreover, replacing bent bars with headed-end bars resulted in more ductile behaviour of the joints.