Punching Shear Behavior of Glass Fiber-Reinforced polymer Reinforced Concrete Slab-Column Edge Connections Under Lateral Cyclic Loading – Year two

The applicability of reinforcing slab-column edge connections with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars in resisting gravity loads has been validated through several investigations. The elastic nature of FRP reinforcement raises concerns about the feasibility of using this type of reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) structures in seismic regions. To date, only one study has been conducted to investigate the seismic response of glass (G) FRP-RC slab-column edge connections. In addition, current limitations of FRP design codes concerning the seismic resistance may lead to a highly conservative and uneconomical design due to the lack of experimental evidence.
Therefore, this project consists of developing analytical models for FRP-RC slab-column edge connections (validated with experimental data) which will be used to conduct seismic performance assessment to investigate the safety and accuracy of current design methods. The main objective is set to support North America’s codes with essential experimental and analytical data towards developing a clause for FRP-RC slab-column edge connections and to provide engineers with reliable design guidelines and confident in adopting such element in construction. This in return will benefit the industrial partner (SFTec Inc.) as a leading producer and supplier of FRP bars worldwide.

Faculty Supervisor:

Brahim Benmokrane

Student:

Partner:

SFTec Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure; Manufacturing

University:

Université de Sherbrooke

Program: