Article,
Experimental Study of Influence of Bond on Flexural Behavior of Concrete Beams Pretensioned with Aramid Fiber Reinforced Plastics
ACI Structural Journal, 96 (3): 377-385 (May 1999)
Abstract
An experimental program was formulated to investigate the flexural
behavior of concrete prestressed with aramid fiber reinforced plastic
(AFRP) tendons. The particular focus was the influence of the bond
between an AFRP tendon and concrete on the flexural response of a
beam. In the main test series, pretensioned concrete beams were cast
using either one of two types of AFRP tendons or steel tendons. The
influence of bond was studied by testing beams with fully-bonded
tendons, unbonded tendons or partially-bonded tendons. It was found
that, although the fully-bonded beams had a high ultimate load capacity,
only limited rotation occurred prior to failure. In contrast, large
rotations were noted in the unbonded beams, but the strengths of
these members were significantly (25 percent) lower than those of
the fully-bonded beams. The only beams that achieved both a high
rotation capacity and a high ultimate load capacity were the beams
with partially-bonded tendons.
It is suggested that the use of partially-bonded tendons could provide
the basis of a new design method for concrete beams prestressed with
fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) tendons.
