Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-Reinforced Beam-Column Connections with Novel Connection Details

This paper proposes two novel reinforcement details for glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete (RC) exterior beam-column connections. Four RC exterior beam-column connections with different connection details (SH-bend, GH-bend, Z-bend, and U-bend) were tested under reversed cyclic loading. The two conventional connection details (SH-bend and GH-bend) comprised three 90-degree hooked bar anchorages for longitudinal reinforcement of the beam and four rectangular stirrups (steel or GFRP) within the connection region. In the two novel connection details (Z-bend and U-bend) proposed in this study, U-shaped bars were used as anchorage at the end of the longitudinal reinforcement of the beam. The Z-bend detail contained four extra Z-shaped bars and one rectangular stirrup, and the U-bend detail contained four additional U-bars and four rectangular stirrups at the connection. Experimental results revealed that the U-bend detail achieved higher load capacity, ductility, and energy dissipation than those of the Z-bend and conventional connection details.