Title:
Bond Study of Corrosion-Free Reinforcement Embedded in Eco-Friendly Concrete
Author(s):
Ali F. Al-Khafaji, John J. Myers, and Hayder H. Alghazali
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
356
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
1-35
Keywords:
bond assessment, pullout, fly ash, GFRP bar, finite element, SEM, EDS, FiC, performance rank analysis
DOI:
10.14359/51737243
Date:
10/1/2022
Abstract:
This paper presents an investigation of the bond performance of corrosion-free sand-coated glass fiber reinforced polymer bars (GFRP) implanted in two types of fly ash-based eco-friendly concrete. Steel reinforcement is prone to corrosion and is expensive to fix, therefore finding an effective alternative has become a must. One of these alternatives is GFRP bar. On the other hand, conventional concrete (CC) is not issueless, as it significantly affects the environment through its high-intensity CO2 emissions. Thus, other alternatives have been looked into to mitigate the CO2 problems. One of these alternatives is partially substituting Portland cement with another CO2 emission-free material such as fly ash. In this study, two levels (50% and 70%) of high-volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC) were used to investigate their bond performance with GFRP bars. Cylindrical specimens were tested under the effect of pullout load. Furthermore, the bars were investigated chemically and microstructurally to see if the fly ash had some influence on the GFRP bar. For concrete, performance rank analysis was carried out to identify the best concrete mixture in terms of slump, unit weight, cost, and bond strength. In addition, to verify the experimental work, two-dimensional finite element models were built using translator elements to present the bond action between the concrete and its reinforcement. The results of the investigation showed that the bond strength of GFRP bars was less than that of mild steel owing to GFRP bar deformation. In addition, CC resulted in a higher bond strength than HVFAC. The bar analyses did not yield any obvious signs of microstructural deterioration or chemical attack.