Journal of Polymer & Composites Review Article
Flexural Performance of GFRP-Reinforced Concrete Beams with Shear Connectors and Web Stiffeners: Experimental and Numerical Assessment
Abstract
The The present study experimentally and numerically investigates the flexural performance of reinforced concrete beams incorporating Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforcement, mechanical shear connectors, and web stiffeners. Five beam configurations, namely CB-0, GB-1, GBS-2, GBW-3, and GBSW-4, were evaluated to determine their effects on load-carrying capacity, displacement, cracking behavior, strain development, energy absorption, and ductility. The conventional reinforced concrete beam CB-0 was considered the reference specimen. The experimental results demonstrated a substantial improvement in structural performance following the incorporation of GFRP reinforcement and additional strengthening mechanisms. The ultimate load increased from 110.51 kN for CB-0 to 255.07 kN for GBSW-4, representing a 130.81% improvement, while ultimate displacement increased from 36.08 to 57.82 mm. GBSW-4 also exhibited the highest total energy absorption of 19,136.7 kN·mm. GBS-2 achieved the highest energy-based ductility index of 11.06, whereas GBW-3 produced the highest tensile steel strain. Finite element simulations showed close agreement with experimental results, with ultimate-load deviations ranging from 0.90% to 4.25%. Parametric analyses further confirmed that increasing concrete compressive strength and GFRP tensile strength enhanced peak load capacity. Overall, the combined GFRP–shear connector–web stiffener configuration demonstrated the most comprehensive structural improvement.
Keywords
References (25)
- Mahmood EM, Allawi AA, El-Zohairy A. Flexural performance of encased pultruded GFRP I-beam with high strength concrete under static loading. Materials. 2022;15(13):4519.
- Ali MI, Allawi AA, El-Zohairy A. Flexural behavior of pultruded GFRP–concrete composite beams strengthened with GFRP stiffeners. Fibers. 2024;12(1):7.
- Ibrahim TH, Allawi AA, El-Zohairy A. Experimental and FE analysis of composite RC beams with encased pultruded GFRP I-beam under static loads. Adv Struct Eng. 2023 Feb;26(3):516–32. doi:10.1177/13694332221130795
- Abbood AA, Al-Rumaithi A, Oukaili N, Allawi A, Albayati A, Ibrahim TH, et al. Sectional and Stress Analysis of Hybrid Reinforced Concrete Beams with Embedded GFRP Profiles Under Monotonic Static Loading. J Compos Sci. 2026;10(6):288.
- Mahmood EM, Allawi AA, El-Zohairy A. Analysis and residual behavior of encased pultruded GFRP I-beam under fire loading. Sustainability. 2022;14(20):13337.
- Chawla H, Chandramauli N, Singh SB. Study of the Composite Action of FRP Floor Beams and RC Slab Under Flexural Loading. In: Singh SB, Sivasubramanian MVR, Chawla H, editors. Emerging Trends of Advanced Composite Materials in Structural Applications [Internet]. Singapore: Springer Singapore; 2021 [cited 2026 Sep 3]. p. 149–68. (Composites Science and Technology). Available from: https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-16-1688-4_6 doi:10.1007/978-981-16-1688-4_6
- Abdulkhaliq M, Al-Ahmed AH. The flexural behavior of one-way concrete bubbled slabs reinforced by GFRP-bars with embedded steel I-sections. Eng Technol Appl Sci Res. 2024;14(4):15860–70.
- Ifrahim MS, Sangi AJ, Ahmad SH. Experimental and numerical investigation of flexural behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars. In: Structures [Internet]. Elsevier; 2023 [cited 2026 Sep 3]. p. 104951. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235201242301041X
- Tran TT, Tu SQ, Nguyen XT, Bui TT, Dao QH, Nguyen DD, et al. Behavior of railway bridge slab without ballast using GFRP reinforced lightweight concrete. Int J Struct Integr. 2026;17(2):337–57.
- El Zareef MA. An experimental and numerical analysis of the flexural performance of lightweight concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars. Eng Technol Appl Sci Res. 2023;13(3):10776–80.
- Ibrahim TH, Allawi AA. The response of reinforced concrete composite beams reinforced with pultruded GFRP to repeated loads. J Eng. 2023;29(01):158–74.
- Hassan HF, Medhlom MK, Ahmed AS, Al-Dahlaki MH. Flexural performance of concrete beams reinforced by gfrp bars and strengthened by cfrp sheets. Case Stud Constr Mater. 2020;13:e00417.
- Choi I, Kim J, You YC. Effect of cyclic loading on composite behavior of insulated concrete sandwich wall panels with GFRP shear connectors. Compos Part B Eng. 2016;96:7–19.
- Suhaib MB, Tantray MA. Behaviour of GFRP Stiffened Cold-Formed Steel Built-up Beams. Int J Steel Struct. 2022 Aug;22(4):1042–59. doi:10.1007/s13296-022-00621-2
- Zidan A, Shaaban HF, El-Zohairy A. Finite Element and Parametric Study on the Shear Capacity of FRP and Stainless-Steel Bolted Connectors in GFRP–Concrete Composite Beams. J Compos Sci. 2025;9(11):622.
- Abdulkhaliq M, Al-Ahmed AH. Behavior of GFRP Reinforced-Concrete Bubbled One-Way Slabs by Encased Composite Steel I-Sections. Eng Technol Appl Sci Res. 2024;14(5):16701–12.
- Nguyen QT, Livaoğlu R. The effect of the ratio of Λ-shaped shear connectors on the flexural behavior of a reinforced concrete frame. Adv Struct Eng. 2020 Sep;23(12):2724–40. doi:10.1177/1369433220920442
- Karim R, Shafei B. Performance of fiber-reinforced concrete link slabs with embedded steel and GFRP rebars. Eng Struct. 2021;229:111590.
- Shi Y, Liu Y, Xu X, Wan X, Zheng S, Hu H, et al. Flexural behavior of composite beams with GFRP bars reinforced UHPC slabs under negative bending moment. J Build Eng. 2025;115061.
- Hassaine Daouadji T, Bensatallah T, Abbès F, Abbès B. Interface slip analysis of adhesively bonded non-symmetrical steel–concrete composite beams. J Adhes Sci Technol. 2026 Apr 29;1–28. doi:10.1080/01694243.2026.2661300
- Mohamed OA, Kewalramani MA, Imran AM. Shear and flexure of FRP-reinforced concrete beams and slabs–A review. Mater Today Proc [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2026 Jun 15]. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214785323021168
- Khavaran A. Investigation of shear-critical one-way concrete slabs internally reinforced with GFRP bars [PhD Thesis] [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2026 Sep 3]. Available from: https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/d6225e6a-17c3-4e8b-9272-339dd9008f40/content
- Mirzabagheri S, Salem O. Thermal-mechanical numerical investigation of glass fibre-reinforced polymer-reinforced concrete beams with mid-span straight-end bar lap splices subjected to standard fire. J Struct Fire Eng. 2025;16(3):477–95.
- Al-Rubaye M, Manalo A, Alajarmeh O, Ferdous W, Lokuge W, Benmokrane B, et al. Flexural behaviour of concrete slabs reinforced with GFRP bars and hollow composite reinforcing systems. Compos Struct. 2020;236:111836.
- AlHamaydeh M, Anwar Orabi M. Punching Shear Behavior of Synthetic Fiber–Reinforced Self-Consolidating Concrete Flat Slabs with GFRP Bars. J Compos Constr. 2021 Aug;25(4):04021029. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0001131