Investigation of shear strength and flexural cracking load of FRP reinforced members using FEA

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been proven to be a useful substitute for conventional steel bars because of their corrosion resistance and high tensile strength. However, the shear behavior and design of concrete elements reinforced with FRP bars remain an area of consideration. The literature shows that the failure loads are around twice the initial flexural cracking load of the beams. This paper examines the relation between the initial cracking load and the shear strength of the components using finite element analysis (FEA). Experimental results showed that the beams in the center of the shear span crack at about twice the cracking load in the center of the beam span. The results of the finite element analysis (FEA) show the similar behavior of the test results. The initial cracking load was also found to be consistent with the test results. However, it turned out that the ultimate load in FEA was more in line with the test results. This was attributed to some friction in the support of test setup. Consequently, it was found that the shear strengths predicted using the cracking loads of FEA were more conservative than the test results.