In recent years, construction with ultra-high-performance
short-fibre-reinforced concrete has increased significantly, both
in Europe and worldwide. This material is strong in compression,
more ductile in tension than plain concrete and can help mitigate
the effects of environmental exposure because of its low permeability; thus, the industrial use of this material has increased, particularly when sustainable development principles are considered
[1,2]. Use of this material enables a designer to create thinner sections and longer spans that are light, graceful and innovative in
both geometry and form, with low permeability and good durability in terms of corrosion, abrasion and impact [3]. The material can
be used without ordinary steel reinforcement (rebar). It requires
less formwork, labour and maintenance than conventional concrete, therefore, reducing costs [4]. The elimination of shear stirrups enhances safety, reduces the weight of the structure and
speeds construction. Its durability reduces maintenance requirements and extends service life. The use of UHPC in construction
has significantly increased globally; consequently, new ways to
optimise its use are now necessary [5,6].
In the past few years, the use of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP)
rebars to replace steel rebars has emerged as one of the numerous
techniques proposed to enhance the corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete structures. In particular, FRP rebars offer significant potential for use in reinforced concrete construction when
conventional steel-reinforced concrete has yielded unacceptable
service [7–9]. The objective is to mix UHPC–SFR and FRP.
This paper presents the analytical and experimental results of
an investigation of a new type of RC beam reinforced with
UHPC–SFR.
The RC beams tested in this study were formed by casting FRP
rebars in the bottom of an ultra-high-performance short-fibrereinforced concrete (UHPC–SFR) beam, as shown in Fig. 1 . The
high-performance concrete, which has a minimum compressive
strength of 150 MPa and a minimum tensile strength of 15 MPa,
was placed in moulds to obtain beams as lightweight as possible.
The elastic modulus of the UHPC–SFR was approximately
50,000 MPa [1,2]. The UHPC–SFR layers were internally reinforced
with FRP bars to increase the tensile strength of the bottom portion
of the RC beam [10].