Comparative Structural Analysis of GFRP, Reinforced Concrete, and Steel Frames under Seismic Loads

• Published in: Materials Vol. 16; no. 14; p. 4908
• Main Authors: Mincigrucci, Luca, Civera, Marco, Lenticchia, Erica, Ceravolo, Rosario, Rosano, Michele, Russo, Salvatore
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09-07-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Boundary conditions; Building materials; Comparative analysis; Composite materials; Concrete; Construction; Construction materials; Corrosion resistance; Dynamic response; Earthquake loads; Earthquakes; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; Finite element method; GFRP frame; GFRP structural performance; Glass fiber reinforced plastics; Hypotheses; Polymer matrix composites; pultruded GFRP element; Reinforced concrete; Reinforcing steels; seismic design; Seismic engineering; Seismic response; Steel frames; Steel, Structural; storey drift; Strength to weight ratio; Stress distribution; Structural analysis; Structural steels; Two dimensional models; Vibration; Weight reduction; pultruded GFRP element; seismic design; storey drift; GFRP structural performance; GFRP frame
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma16144908

Fibre-reinforced polymer composites in general, and especially glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP), have increasingly been used in recent decades in construction. The advantages of GFRP as an alternative construction material are its high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosive resistance, high durability, and ease of installation. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the response of GFRP under dynamic conditions (more specifically, under seismic loads) and to compare the performance of this composite material with that of two traditional building materials: reinforced concrete and structural steel. To this aim, a finite element analysis is carried out on a two-dimensional frame modelled with steel, reinforced concrete (RC), or GFRP pultruded materials and subjected to a seismic input. The dynamic response of the structure is evaluated for the three building materials in terms of displacements, inter-storey drift, base shear, and stress. The results show a good performance of the GFRP frame, with stress distribution and displacements halfway between those of RC and steel. Most importantly, the GFRP frame outperforms the other materials in terms of reduced weight and, thus, base shear (-40% compared to steel and -88.5% compared to RC).