JOURNAL OF POLYMER ENGINEERING

 Vol. 23, No. 5, 2003, page 337

Analysis and Experiments on FRP-Polymer Concrete Hybrid Beams

M.C.S. Ribeiro, A.J.M. Ferreira, A.T. Marques 

Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial

Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

Rua do Barroco 174-214, 4465-591 Leça do Balio, Portugal

ABSTRACT

      This paper deals with a preliminary research undertaken in hybrid beams, where GFRP pultruded profiles are assembled, in an innovative way, with a layer of polymer concrete. Various beams were designed considering a pultrusion profile that will work in tension, and a polymer concrete filling that will work mainly in compression, in order to take benefit from the best mechanical properties of both materials. Several beams, with four different hybrid designs, were tested in four-point bending, and the flexural behavior of such structures was studied. A numeric model implemented in a finite element code was also developed in order to predict the experimental results. Model designs produced a highly optimised flexural behavior, with a pronounced synergetic effect.

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