ABSTRACT
This paper deals with an experimental investigation on the shear capacity of BFRP (basalt fibre-reinforced polymer) reinforced concrete (RC) members without shear reinforcement. The difference of BFRP compared to steel reinforcement is its corrosion resistance, electromagnetic neutrality and low thermal conductivity. On the other hand, the modulus of elasticity of BFRP is significant lower than that of steel rebars. This leads to a different behaviour regarding the bond between concrete and BFRP reinforcement and load capacity of RC members. For the application of BFRP RC structures, the load-bearing behaviour has to be evaluated. To study the shear capacity of BFRP RC members, concrete beams under short-term static and centric load were experimentally determined. The results were compared to geometrically same configured specimens with steel reinforcement while several parameters were monitored during the tests. The obtained experimental results were used to evaluate existing shear models of current design guidelines for FRP RC.
