Abstract: The structural degeneration problems of reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs due to the corrosion of steel reinforcement can be solved by the replacement reinforcing material such as glass fiber polymer reinforcement (GFRP). In the previous research of concrete deck slabs, it was found that punching failure was the common failure mode. In this study, several theoretical models, such as current design codes and methods in literatures, were used to predict the ultimate strengths in the test results of GFRP reinforced concrete deck slabs. In the comparison of prediction results with the test results, it was found that most of theoretical models could not predict the punching capacity accurately, which the empirical equations were based on the experimental tests of simply supported structures. A theoretical method with consideration of arching action previously proposed by authors showed good coloration with the punching capacities from the tests. In the analytical study, it was shown that high reinforcement percentage and small span-to-depth ratio resulted in shear punching failure but not flexural punching failure in GFRP reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs. Therefore, a simplified theoretical method was proposed in this paper. The prediction results from this method showed good agreement with the test results.

Key words: GFRP, concrete bridge deck slabs, punching capacity, theoretical method