Flexural Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite Beams Reinforced with Aramid Rope

• Four-point bending tests are conducted on FRCC beams reinforced with aramid ropes. • Finer PVA and aramid-FRCC specimens exhibited ductile flexural failure. • FRCC specimens maintained their structural integrity under large deformation. • Section analysis showed good adaptability with experimental results. Continuous fiber (CF) ropes without resin can overcome workability issues associated with fiber-reinforced polymer bars in concrete structures. In addition, fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (FRCC) that incorporates short fibers into a cement-based matrix, has a potential to provide high deformability in compression avoiding the brittle failure due to fiber rupture in tension. This study focuses on the potential of FRCC to enhance the performance of CF rope-reinforced structures. The objective is to investigate the fundamental flexural behavior of FRCC members reinforced with CF ropes. Four-point bending tests are conducted on beam specimens reinforced with aramid ropes. Three strands of twisted aramid ropes are positioned at the tension side of the specimen with the knots formed at both ends to provide the anchorage. The test variable is type of FRCC including the type of fiber and the fiber volume fraction. Notably, formwork is performed manually without specialized tools, demonstrating high workability. Experimental results showed that the 27 µm polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and aramid-FRCC specimens exhibited ductile flexural failure by compression of FRCC, while the other specimens failed in shear. Even under large deformation, the FRCC specimens maintained their structural integrity and exhibited stable deformation characteristics. The maximum loads of specimens that showed bending failure were approximately three times that of the specimen without FRCC, which failed in shear. The section analysis is conducted employing the constitutive laws for the aramid rope and FRCC. A comparison of the maximum bending moment between the experimental results and section analysis showed good adaptability.