Stress-strain behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced polymer-confined concrete containing macro fibres recycled from waste glass fibre reinforced polymer

Abstract

Glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) wastes may be mechanically processed into small strips called “macro fibres,” which were used as short reinforcement fibres to produce macro fibre reinforced concrete (MFRC). The addition of such macro fibres into concrete has proven to be effective in enhancing the flexural strength and toughness of concrete, but it also slightly reduces the compressive strength of concrete. This paper presents a study on the behaviour of CFRP-confined MFRC. A total of 84 CFRP-confined MFRC cylinders were prepared and tested in axial compression. The test parameters included the CFRP confinement stiffness, macro fibre content, and fibre length. The test results show that the compressive strength and ultimate axial strain can be significantly enhanced through the use of CFRP confinement. The ultimate axial strain of CFRP-confined concrete with macro fibres is slightly higher than that without macro fibres. The test results were compared with two well-known stress-strain models for FRP-confined concrete, including Teng et al.’s design-oriented model and Jiang and Teng’s analysis-oriented model. A comparative analysis showed that both models slightly underestimate the compressive strength and slightly overestimate the ultimate axial strain for CFRP-confined MFRC.