Lap Splice in GFRP-RC Rectangular Columns Subjected to Cyclic-Reversed Loads

Abstract

This paper presents the experimental results of five full-scale glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete (RC) columns with lap splices under axial and cyclic-reversed loads. One additional reference column was reinforced with steel bars and stirrups for comparison purposes. The column specimens had a 350-mm square cross section with 1,650-mm shear span. Each specimen represented the lower segment of a first-story column between the footing and the point of contraflexure. The test parameters included type of reinforcement, lap splice length of longitudinal reinforcement and transverse reinforcement spacing. Test results indicated that a splice length of 60 times the diameter of the longitudinal column bar was adequate in transferring the full bond forces along the splice length. In addition, lap-spliced GFRP-RC columns with closely spaced transverse reinforcement showed stable hysteresis response and achieved high levels of deformability, which far exceeded the limitations of the North American building codes.