Feasibility of FRP Molded Grating-Concrete Composites for One-Way Slab Systems

Larralde, J.; ,

Feasibility of FRP Molded Grating-Concrete Composites for One-Way Slab Systems

by J. Larralde, Drexel Univ, Philadelphia, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Materials: Performance and Prevention of Deficiencies and Failures

Abstract:

This paper describes the behavior of one-way concrete slabs reinforced with Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) molded grating. FRP molded grating is commercially available and is mainly used to build walkways to be used in corrosive conditions. The modulus of elasticity of the FRP grating alone is relatively low thus, limiting the service load at a small fraction of the ultimate load. Adding a layer of concrete to the FRP grating significantly increases the stiffness of the system, where the FRP grating functions as reinforcement for the concrete. As a result, the allowable load for a given maximum deflection is considerably increased. It has been found in previous tests, though, that the concrete-grating composite has shown the potential to fail in shear. If the FRP grating-concrete composite is to be used as part of one-way slab systems, the potential shear failure needs to be resolved. This paper shows the results of tests on wide concrete beams reinforced with FRP grating in which the shear span-to-depth ratio was varied to enforce different types of failure. Some test specimens were provided with additional vertical reinforcement to increase their shear capacity. The FRP grating-concrete composite beams with shear span-to-depth (a/d) ratios greater than 7.7 failed by crushing of the concrete in the compression zone. Diagonal tension failure occurred in the specimens with a/d ratios smaller than 5. The particular FRP and steel studs used in the tests reported herein were not very effective in preventing the diagonal tension failure.

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