Tests of Continuous Concrete Slabs Reinforced with Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Bars

This paper presents experimental results of three continuously supported concrete slabs reinforced with basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars. Three different BFRP reinforcement combinations of over and under reinforcement ratios were applied at the top and bottom layers of continuous concrete slabs tested. One additional concrete continuous slab reinforced with steel bars and two simply supported slabs reinforced with under and over BFRP reinforcements were also tested for comparison purposes. All slab sections tested had the same width and depth but different amounts of BFRP reinforcement. The experimental results were used to validate the existing design guidance for the predictions of moment and shear capacities, and deflections of continuous concrete elements reinforced with BFRP bars. The continuously supported BFRP reinforced concrete slabs illustrated wider cracks and larger deflections than the control steel-reinforced concrete slab. All continuous BFRP reinforced concrete slabs exhibited a combined shear-flexure failure mode. ACI 440.1R-15 equations give reasonable predictions for the deflections of continuous slabs (after first cracking) but stiffer behavior for the simply supported slabs, whereas CNR DT203 reasonably predicted the deflections of all BFRP slabs tested. On the other hand, ISIS-M03-07 provided the most accurate shear capacity prediction for continuously supported BFRP reinforced concrete slabs among the current shear design equations.