Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are preferred as prestressing tendons in concrete structures due to its high-strength, lightweight and non-corrosive property. FRP based prestressed concrete member exhibits different crack behavior than steel based prestressed concrete member due to its less stiffness and non-ductile property. An experimental investigation was carried out to study the cracking behaviour of concrete member using Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars as prestressing material. Experimental works includes four numbers of prestressed concrete specimens by varying degree of prestressing of 35 to 70%. The characteristics of crack spacing, crack propagation and crack widths of member were presented. Experimental results were compared with various researchers’ recommendation and proposed a new crack width model by modifying the Frosch crack width model.