Static and dynamic behavior of composite concrete-based beams with embedded Polymer/FRP components

Recently, the seismic reassessment led to justify the behavior of concrete structures and to dispose members able to dissipate energy through a ductile behavior. In this respect, the present work aims to propose a new concrete-composite beam design, which allows the resumption of the shearing action under static and dynamic loads. The proposed design consists to incorporate in the tensile zone of the beam a rectangular polymer member wrapped by FRP, in order to prevent lateral deformation and to significantly enhance bending and shear strengths. A detailed experimental program is carried out on simply supported composite beams under typical four-point bending loads. Experiments are completed by nonlinear finite element modeling based on a local approach to simulate the real behavior of such elements and to allow a better understanding of experimental observations. The average test and numerical results in terms of overall and observed response are emphasized and discussed. In addition, the influence of the shear strength generated by static and dynamic loads as well as the adequate parameters improving the flexural capacity and ductility are assessed to highlight the mechanical performances of the new beam compared to classical RC beams. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.