Comparative Analysis of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) On the Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joint by Simulation Approach Using Ansys Workbench R22

Abstract

When earthquake strikes, exterior beam-column joints are considered to be the most vulnerable structural component in reinforced concrete structures. In this paper, three types of FRP composites namely carbon FRP, glass FRP (synthetic fibers), and hemp FRP (natural fibers) have been tested to compare their effectivity against each other in retrofitting beam-column joints. Ten simulated samples, which includes one control (unwrapped) specimen, and three retrofitted (wrapped) specimens of each type of FRP composites wrapped at L/3, L/4 and L/5 were modeled and tested using non-linear finite element analysis in Ansys Workbench R22 in order to evaluate the parameters which are deformation, equivalent stresses, equivalent elastic strain and strain energy. Numerical results shown significant improvements on all parameters in beam-column joint when wrapped by FRP composites. Among the four parameters, only deformations of the three FRP composites has significant difference and it is used to determine the most effective one which is the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP).