Flexural Behavior of Beams Reinforced with FRP Bars: Test Database, Design Guideline Assessment, and Reliability Evaluation

The aims of this paper are to evaluate the current design procedures and to assess the reliability of FRP-reinforced concrete beams. Firstly, 299 FRP beams are collected to provide a useful source of data for other studies. The designs of these beams based on ACI 440.1R-15, CSA S806-02, and CEB-FIB are also summarized in detail. Secondly, a reliability analysis process considering the uncertainties of numerous variables of FRP-reinforced concrete beams is developed in Matlab R2024b. Based on this reliability analysis process, current prevalent design documents are rigorously assessed. Finally, the effect of numerous parameters on the reliability indices of FRP beams are investigated. The results of the study show that the developed procedure is highly reliable. Among three design documents, ACI 440.1R-15 can predict the ultimate moment of FRP-reinforced concrete beams better than others, as the mean and CoV of the model error are approximately 1.07 and 0.19, respectively. In addition, over 98% of beams designed by ACI 440.1R and CSA S806 meet the target reliability index. The design equations of CEB-FIB in the case of concrete crushing are less safe than those of ACI 440.1R and CSA S806.