Numerical Study of Concrete Beams Reinforced With BFRP Bars Using the Finite Element Method

Abstract

Recently, Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) bars have emerged as a promising alternative to other FRP reinforcement bars, owing to their proven and positive advantages. However, due the recent appearance of these bars and the incompleteness of studies on structural elements reinforced with them, they are not yet incorporated into international codes for concrete reinforced with FRP bars. On the other hand, numerical modeling and structural analysis using the Finite Element Method (FEM) are among the approved and most reliable methods after experimental studies for obtaining results that are close to the real results in experimental models of the studied element, it allows building the necessary number of numerical models of the studied element and conducting the necessary parametric study of the various factors affecting the element's behavior while achieving cost and time savings compared to constructing and testing the same models experimentally. This study aims to build numerical models using ABAQUS software, which relies on the Finite Element Method, for a number of concrete beams reinforced with BFRP bars that have been tested experimentally, and to verify the validity of the numerical modeling by conducting a parametric study to investigate the impact of the reinforcement ratio and the elastic modulus of BFRP bars on the values of the deflection and the strain occurring in the reinforcement bars and the concrete in the numerical models of the studied beams. The results indicate a good agreement between the values obtained from the numerical and experimental studies of the beams, and demonstrate the role of increasing the reinforcement ratio in reducing the strain occurring in the reinforcement bars and the deflection formed at the mid-span of the studied concrete beams models reinforced with BFRP bars, they also show that decreasing the elastic modulus of BFRP bars increases the values of strain of the reinforcement bars and the deflection in the mid-span of beams reinforced with BFRP bars, compared to beams reinforced with steel bars, the results also indicate that the load level corresponding to 30% of the ultimate capacity at Failure of concrete beams reinforced with BFRP bars is a conservative and favors safety if it is considered a load level for service loads that the beam may be exposed to during the serviceability phase.