132 / 2022-04-28 18:55:09

Shear performance of FRP and rubber cushion combination reinforced concrete beams

FRP,Rubber Cushion,Shear performance,Reinforced,Ductility

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been widely used as a reinforcing material in civil engineering, but because of its material properties, the ductility of structures reinforced with FRP in shear has been degraded. In this paper, a new FRP and rubber cushion composite reinforcement structure is proposed to enhance the shear performance of concrete beams (Fig. 1). It was found that the high tensile strength of the FRP and the deformation properties of the rubber cushions increased the shear load capacity of the beams, and that the deformation and energy consumption of the rubber cushions significantly increased the ductility of the structure (Fig. 2).



Most of the existing engineering reinforcement is in the form of FRP bonded to the surface of the structure for flexural and shear reinforcement. However, for the FRP and rubber cushion composite combination reinforced concrete beams, when the FRP is not in the form of adhesive, then the forces can be transferred more evenly in the FRP and rubber cushion, so that both can work together and the ductility performance is more excellent (Fig. 2). The application of this type of reinforcement can considerably reduce the time and labor costs of existing construction processes and has great potential for application.



The energy consumption of the structural reinforcement system is much better than that of a concrete beam due to the material properties of the rubber cushion (Fig. 3). The application of rubber cushions can lead to new ways of handling waste rubber and waste tyres, enabling recycling in civil engineering, hopefully reducing existing cost bottlenecks in civil engineering reinforcement and achieving sustainable development.