Flexural Behavior of Concrete One-Way Slabs Reinforced with CFRP Grids: Experimental and Numerical Study

This study investigated the flexural behavior of concrete one-way slabs reinforced with CFRP grids as longitudinal reinforcement, employing both experimental and finite element (FE) methods. A total of eight concrete one-way slabs were tested, including one with a steel grid and seven with CFRP grids. The test variables considered were concrete strength grade, grid size, and concrete cover thickness. The experimental results revealed that the CFRP grid-reinforced slabs underwent significant deformation without failure. Concrete strength grade was found to significantly influence the cracking load, with an increase of 64.1% observed when the grade was raised from C20 to C40. Reducing the cover thickness proved most effective in enhancing serviceability load capacity, yielding a 44.9% increase when the cover was reduced from 30 mm to 10 mm. Additionally, a finite element model was developed and validated against the experimental results, showing good agreement.