Investigating the behavior of concrete deep beams reinforced with FRP bars

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars are corrosion-resistant and non-magnetic and have high tensile strength. However, using this type of bar in concrete beams reduces their ductility and increases their cracking. In this paper, the effect of using FRP bars as an alternative to steel bars has been investigated, and the percentage and arrangement of GFRP reinforcements, increase the cover of concrete, and use of compression reinforcement on the behavior of deep concrete beams have been evaluated. Deep concrete beams are common members of structures. These beams are used in shear walls, girder bridges, offshore structures, and tall buildings. Due to the different behavior of deep concrete beams compared to bending beams, these beams were evaluated. The results showed that by increasing the concrete cover from 38 mm to 98 mm, the strength of the beam decreased to 31.7%. Additionally, the use of compression bars did not change the bearing capacity of the beam. Also, increasing in GFRP bars, the bearing strength of the beam increased to about 46% compared to the beam with one row of bars.