Experimental assessment of the flexural behavior of normal and reactive powder concrete slabs reinforced with steel-fibre composite bars (SFCBs).

Steel-fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bar (SFCB) is a novel form of rebar. The main technique for SFCB manufacturing, which is described briefly in this paper, is a manual technique, and this study cast eight slabs using this procedure to investigate the flexural behavior of SFCB-reinforced concrete slabs by comparing them with concrete slabs reinforced with ordinary steel bars. The study included an investigation of changes in the thickness of slab, the effects of the CFRP sheet length wrapped around the steel bars, and concrete compressive strengths. The outcomes showed that, increasing the slab thickness from 80 to 100 mm led to an increase in the ultimate load capacity of 55%, while utilising SFCB reinforcement enhanced the ultimate load capacity, with maximum percentage increases ranging from 23% to 41%. Furthermore, the results showed that replacing NC with RPC offered slight enhancements in the ultimate load: this was about 12% in the control slab, while when SFCB was used, the improvement was 16%. Finally, a length of reinforcement two-thirds of the full length of the bar was found to be the optimum length when used for strengthening. Within this paper, the methodology and results are first outlined, then a brief conclusion offered with regard to the investigation overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]