Citation :

Uma Shankar Yaligar, Santosh M. Muranal, Sreeshail Heggond, "Nonlinear Numerical Modelling of GFRP-Reinforced Bridge Deck Slabs under Static and Repeated Loading," International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 45-62, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I4P104

Abstract

Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars have become a promising material to be used in the bridge deck slabs as they are resistant to corrosion, but their fatigue behaviour is still not perfectly understood. In this study, a nonlinear finite element analysis on the behaviour of GFRP-reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs at both the static and cyclic behaviour was carried out using concrete grades of M35 and M40. The Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model is used to create three-dimensional models in ABAQUS to model cracking, damage development, and stiffness reduction. The slabs are loaded with a central wheel-type pressure load of 0.78 MPa, then loaded with a sinusoidal cyclic loading to replicate the service-level traffic impact on the slabs. Embedded truss elements are used to model GFRP reinforcement in order to facilitate composite action. The findings indicate that both grades exhibit bending-dominated response under static loading, and the stresses were below the elastic limits. Progressive stiffness degradation and tensile damage accumulation are found under cyclic loading. M40 slab has greater stiffness, less mid-span deflection, and a tensile damage that is about 15-20% less than M35 slab. Although the cyclic displacements are becoming larger compared to the static response, both slabs exhibit stable hysteretic behaviour without excessive compressive damage or numerical instability. In general, the research proves that high-grade concrete increases fatigue and serviceability of GFRP-reinforced bridge deck slabs and offers practical numerical evidence in terms of designing FRP-reinforced bridge deck systems under repeated loading.

Keywords

GFRP-reinforced concrete, Bridge deck slabs, Finite element analysis, Concrete damage plasticity, Concrete strength grade.

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