Punching shear capacity of two-way slabs reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars

The corrosion risk of steel reinforcement is considered to be one of the main concerns that should be solved. Additionally, steel reinforced structures that are built, particularly, in humid environments generally require a comprehensive care. Recently, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials that are free of these problems appear to offer useful solutions as a substitute material for reinforcement. This thesis focuses on the punching shear capacity of two-way flat slabs reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rebars without shear reinforcement. A state-of-the-art literature survey regarding the mechanical properties and the applications of FRP bars within construction projects throughout the world is presented. Next, the experimental studies conducted at University of Gaziantep Structural Mechanics Laboratory for the tests of GFRP reinforced two-way slabs without shear reinforcement are presented. Additionally, Nonlinear Finite Element Analyses (NLFEA) of conducted experiments are described. Some of current design equations, proposed formulations and newly proposed genetic programing based design equations are tested for their reliability. Numerical study for punching shear load estimation is conducted using several soft computing techniques. The results of the experimental investigations are found to be accurate and validated by means of NLFEA. Also, as a result of reliability analyses, the proposed models are found to be safe to use as design formulations.