Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Journal
Engineering Structures
Volume
184
First Page
52
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.01.086
Last Page
60
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Abstract
Corrosion is a major factor in the deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. To mitigate this problem, steel bars can be replaced with glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) bars. However, the lack of ductility of GFRP-RC elements has prevented their use in many structural applications, especially in seismic areas. Superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) bars have been proposed to be used in seismic areas because of their self-centering characteristics. Also, they have the added advantage of being corrosion resistant. This paper examines the combined use of SMA and GFRP bars to achieve ductile self-centering and corrosion-free elements. The first challenge for such a proposal relates to designing concrete frames, reinforced with SMA and GFRP bars, that have adequate lateral performance in terms of initial stiffness, ductility, and strength. A comprehensive parametric study is conducted to better understand the structural behavior of concrete elements reinforced with SMA and/or GFRP bars. Results from the study are utilized to develop design equations that allow designing an SMA/GFRP RC section to replace a steel RC section, while maintaining lateral strength, stiffness, and ductility. To examine the adequacy of the developed equations, a six-storey concrete frame is designed, and its lateral performance is examined using pushover analysis.
