Abstract
The present study aims to investigate a novel corrosion-resistant and lightweight structural member by performing experiments on GFRP reinforced columns containing polypropylene structural fibers (GPSC columns) under different loading conditions. This study consisted of ten (10) columns to determine their failure modes, axial deformations, axial load-carrying capacity (ALC), and cracking behavior under compressive loads. Out of ten fabricated columns, one column was manufactured using conventional steel reinforcement for comparison purposes. An extensive finite element analysis (FEA) has been performed for capturing the structural performance of GPSC columns. The GPSC columns presented a good structural behavior in terms of ALC and axial deformations showing failure in the upper half portion. The conventional steel reinforced column presented higher ALC and ductility than its GFRP-reinforced counterpart did by 9.1% and 27.1%, respectively. The decrease in the spacing of transverse reinforcement from 250 mm to 150 mm and 150 mm to 75 mm resulted in the increase of ALC by about 5% and 6%, respectively. The three-dimensional FEA model captured the compressive performance of GPSC columns with minor deviations (3% and 7.85% for peak capacity and relevant deformations of GPSC columns).