Experimental Investigation of BFRP Tendons under Monotonic and Hysteretic Loadings

Abstract

Basalt fiber reinforced polymers (BFRPs) have been widely used in structures because of their high strength and light weight advantages. The previous research neglected the effect of the bonded anchor which led to overestimated performances of the BFRP tendons. In this study, experiments on the monotonic and hysteretic behaviors were conducted to analyze the mechanics of the BFRP tendons with bonded anchors. After considering the influences of the loading rates and initial prestressed displacements, the anchor colloidal deformations of the BFRP systems were measured and regressed. The results showed that the bearing and elongation capacities of the BFRP tendons, which exceed 3.3% and 140 kN, respectively, were independent of the loading rate and initial prestressed displacement under the monotonic and hysteretic loadings. The colloidal deformations, which accounted for about 20% of the whole deformation of the BFRP tendons, cannot be neglected in the predicted responses of the BFRP tendons. The regressed formulas of the anchor colloidal deformation could effectively anticipate the monotonic and hysteretic responses of the BFRP tendons. Therefore, the BFRP tendons with relatively stable mechanical properties are suitable for further practical application.

Keywords

• basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP)
• stiffness
• loading rate
• hysteretic behavior
• anchor colloidal deformation