Owing to their high strength-to-weight ratio, superior corrosion resistance, and convenience in manufacture, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars can be used as a good alternative to steel bars to solve the durability issue in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, especially for seawater sea-sand concrete. In this paper, a theoretical model for predicting the punching shear strength of FRP-RC slabs is developed. In this model, the punching shear strength is determined by the intersection of capacity and demanding curve of FRP-RC slabs. The capacity curve is employed based on critical shear crack theory, while the demand curve is derived with the help of a simplified tri-linear moment-curvature relationship. After the validity of the proposed model is verified with experimental data collected from the literature, the effects of concrete strength, loading area, FRP reinforcement ratio, and effective depth of concrete slabs are evaluated quantitatively.
EVALUATION OF THE PUNCHING SHEAR STRENGTH AND FATIGUE RESISTANCE OF ROAD BRIDGE RC SLABS
