Effect of basalt bars and chopped basalt fibers on the performance of flexure in beams

01.Feb.2025

​This research investigates experimentally the influence of using basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars and chopped basalt fibers on the flexural behavior of concrete. The basalt fiber weight ratio and the BFRP longitudinal reinforcement ratio were the main investigated parameters. Twelve concrete beams were tested, nine beams were cast with longitudinal BFRP bars with three different BFRP reinforcement ratio (ρf) to BFRP reinforcement balance ratio (ρfb), i.e. (ρf /ρfb) of 0.88,1.23 and 1.89. These beams were categorized into three groups based on their basalt fiber weight ratio of 0.0%, 1.5%, and 3.0%. The remaining three beams were cast with conventional steel bars. The load–deflection behavior, cracking behavior, deflection, flexural strength, and mode of failure were studied. Increasing the longitudinal reinforcement ratio of BFRP improves the flexural strength and reduces the number of cracks. While …

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