Modeling the shear strength of concrete beams reinforced with CFRP bars under unsymmetrical loading

This study presents the development of a nonlinear finite element (FE) model that is capable of simulating the response and predicting the shear strength of concrete beams reinforced with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars. More specifically, this paper investigates the effect of unsymmetrical loading that creates two shear span-to-depth (a/d) ratios within the beam specimen and further complicates shear response. It is observed that the predicted FE results are in close agreement with the measured experimental results. Thus, it can be concluded that the developed models can be used to simulate the behavior of concrete beams reinforced with CFRP bars.