Fiberglass Reinforced Concrete Slabs and Beams

Twelve square concrete slabs of 5 ft x 5 ft clear span and fully restrained at the four boundaries were tested to failure. They had a uniform average total thickness of 2 in. and measured 7 ft x 7 ft in overall dimensions. The controlling variable parameter was the variation of the grid reinforcement spacing in the two orthogonal directions, from 8 in. to 3 in., the fiberglass reinforcement area varying from 0.074 sq in./ft to 0.196 sq in./ft in each direction and a reinforcement percentage of 0.290% to 0.769%. In addition, 14 simply supported and two double-span continuous beams were also investigated. They were 5 in. wide and 12 in. deep, with a nominal effective depth of 11.25 in. and center line span of 10 ft 0 in. Analytical expressions were developed for evaluation of crack width, deflection, and limit capacity at failure.