This study investigates the flexural behavior of high-performance reinforced concrete (HPRC) beams reinforced with glass
fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) and high-tensile steel (HTS) longitudinal bars, and containing short innovation fibers.
Carbon (CA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers are incorporated to enhance the strength and ductility of non-fiberreinforced concrete beams. Seven supported HPRC beams were constructed and tested to investigate the effects of fiber
volume fraction (Vf), reinforcement ratio (ρt) of GFRP and HTS bars, and fiber type on flexural performance. CA fibers
increase the yield and ultimate flexural load by 51% and 32%, respectively. Hybrid (CA-PVA) fibers improved Py and Pu
by 36% and 24%.%. Furthermore, flexural toughness (I) and flexural strength increased by 68% and 10%, respectively,
with the inclusion of PVA fibers at a volume fraction (Vf) of 1.2%. The hybrid (CA-PVA) fiber increased the yield and
post-cracking stiffness by 18% and 21%, respectively. GFRP bars with ρf =1.45% improved the ultimate flexural load by
21%. ANSYS 15.0, nonlinear finite element analysis (NFEA) software, is used to validate the experimental work results.
The NFEA results, which relate to the correlation between load capacity and deflection, as well as the observed crack
patterns, closely matched the experimental data. An improved empirical formula based on ACI 318−19 (Building code
requirements for structural concrete, American Concrete Institute; Farmington Hills 2019) was proposed to determine the
nominal flexural strength of High-Performance RC beams. The nominal values obtained from the improved empirical
formula correlate well with the experimental results. |
