ABSTRACT
The application of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)bars as replacement for steel bar reinforcement becomes more and more popular. A main benefit of FRP bars in comparison to steel bar reinforcement is their excellent durability properties allowing lower concrete covers and resulting in reduction of member’s depth. The structural behavior of reinforced concrete members is advantageously influenced by bond characteristics of reinforcement. It is well known that the bond performance of steel bars is essentially influenced by confinement reinforcement. This fact is already considered in design codes like fib ModelCode 2010. However, for FRP bars confined with FRP mesh reinforcement there is only few information available. For this reason an experimental program has been carried out where the bond behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars was investigated. The results indicate that the confinement reinforcement influences the ultimate bond stress and the bond stress – slip behavior.
