Concrete Contribution to Shear Strength of Beams Reinforced with Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Bars

This paper reports on the shear behavior of concrete beams reinforced with basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars. In this study, 10 reinforced concrete beams with no transverse reinforcement, including 2 beams reinforced with longitudinal steel bars, were constructed and tested until failure. The test variables were the longitudinal reinforcement ratio and the span-to-depth ratio of the beams. The test results were compared with predictions of different available codes and design guidelines. Shear design equations of the CAN/CSA-806-12 code and the JSCE-97 guidelines provided accurate predictions. However, the predictions of CAN/CSA-806-12 were not conservative in some cases, whereas those of the ACI-440.1R-15 and the CAN/CSA-S6-10 were conservative. The test results were combined with the experimental results of a large database, including 75 beams and one-way slabs reinforced with carbon, glass, aramid, and BFRP bars. The behavior of beams reinforced with BFRP bars was quite similar to that of beams reinforced with glass and aramid fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. The test results demonstrate the potential of using BFRP bars as alternative reinforcement in concrete members.