Does the use of FRP reinforcement change the one-way shear behavior of reinforced concrete slabs?

For members with no transverse reinforcement, numerous models have been proposed for determining shear capacity, most often based on a statistical curve fit to experimental beam test results. The shear provisions of the Canadian code (CSA) for steel-reinforced concrete, by contrast, are based on a theoretical model, the modified compression field theory. This paper demonstrates that the CSA shear provisions for steel-reinforced members can be safely applied to members with internal fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars by adjusting the term E(s)A(s) in the method to E(r)A(r). A database of 146 shear failures of specimens reinforced with carbon, glass, or aramid FRP or steel is presented and gives an average test to predicted ratio of 1.38 with a coefficient of variation (COV) of 17.2%. The CSA code equations were optimized for the typical strain range of steel-reinforced concrete and when an equation appropriate for the wider range of strains associated with FRP is used, then a better statistical result can be achieved. Application of this expression to the database resulted in an average test to predicted strength ratio of 1.15 with a COV of 14.9%. As both methods are based on a theoretical shear model that was derived for steel-reinforced concrete and since both methods work safely, it can be concluded that the use of internal FRP bars does not change the one-way shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams and slabs without stirrups.