Load-Deflection Behavior of Over- and Under-Reinforced Concrete Beams with Hybrid FRP-Steel Reinforcements

The present study pertains to the load-deflection behavior and cracking moments of concrete beams with hybrid FRP-steel reinforcement. Under and over-reinforced hybrid beams were tested for failure along with reference beams with only steel or FRP reinforcement. The first-cracking moments of the beams were estimated analytically by using different uncracked moments of the inertia and modulus of rupture definitions. The uncracked moment of inertia definitions include the gross and uncracked transformed moments. The adopted modulus definitions are comprised of the experimental values from tests on prisms and the analytical values from the equations in different concrete codes. Furthermore, analytical methods were developed for estimating the deflections of concrete beams with hybrid FRP-steel or only FRP reinforcement. Two different types of elastic moduli, namely the secant modulus corresponding to the extreme compression fiber strain and the ACI 318M-19 modulus, were used in deflection calculations. Closer estimates were obtained by using the secant modulus, particularly in hybrid-reinforced beams. In the post-yielding region of the steel tension reinforcement, the deflection estimates were established to lay in closer proximity to the experimental curve when obtained by adding up the deflection increments instead of directly calculating the total deflections from the elastic curve equation. Accurate estimation of the cracking moment was found to be vital for the close prediction of deflections.