Numerical Modeling of Geopolymer Concrete Short Columns Reinforced with GFRP Bars Under Different Loading Conditions

Abstract

Infrastructure developments are on the increase all around the world. Building these modern infrastructural facilities requires large amounts of steel and concrete. India is one of the world's largest producers of steel and cement. However, to produce one ton each of steel and cement, 1.85 tons and one ton, respectively, of CO2 is released into the environment, contributing immensely to global warming. Again, embedded steel bar corrosion is the main threat to the durability of the reinforced concrete elements. So, Glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars and geopolymer concrete can be employed in RC elements, like columns, for enhanced sustainability. A sustainable and green alternative to OPC concrete is geopolymer concrete (GPC), which uses waste residues such as GGBS, flyash, and aggregates to prevent extraction of raw materials and reduce demand for disposal of waste. The current investigation aims to find the effectiveness of using short geopolymer concrete columns reinforced with GFRP bars. The present study performs a 3D finite element analysis over geopolymer concrete-based short columns with GFRP bars. A representative with a total 1200 mm height and 160 mm × 260 mm cross-section is considered for the GFRP bars reinforced columns under different conditions of loading. Results of FEA analysis carried out using the commercial ANSYS software show that reinforcing the RC short columns with GFRP bars is effective in that they exhibit 10% more buckling strength and 40% more in compression under concentric loading as compared to eccentric loading and also the deformation in the eccentrically loaded column is 50% more when compared to concentrically loaded GFRP RC short column. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.