Structural performance of the GFRP-reinforced precast concrete no-gap boat ramp plank
Article
Ebrahimzadeh, Shahrad, Manalo, Allan, Alajarmeh, Omar, Yang, Xian, Benmokrane, Brahim, Sorbello, Charles Dean, Weerakoon, Senarath and Hassanli, Reza. 2025. "Structural performance of the GFRP-reinforced precast concrete no-gap boat ramp plank." Engineering Structures. 335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2025.120289
| Article Title | Structural performance of the GFRP-reinforced precast concrete no-gap boat ramp plank |
|---|---|
| ERA Journal ID | 4188 |
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Ebrahimzadeh, Shahrad, Manalo, Allan, Alajarmeh, Omar, Yang, Xian, Benmokrane, Brahim, Sorbello, Charles Dean, Weerakoon, Senarath and Hassanli, Reza |
| Journal Title | Engineering Structures |
| Journal Citation | 335 |
| Article Number | 120289 |
| Number of Pages | 17 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
| ISSN | 0141-0296 |
| 1873-7323 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2025.120289 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141029625006807 |
| Abstract | This study evaluated a new design of boat ramp planks called the “no-gap” concept where individual precast concrete planks reinforced internally with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) are linked through GFRP rods to provide integrity. The no-gap boat ramp provides an efficient boating infrastructure with reduced maintenance and ease of manufacturing and assembly process, as well as mitigates the risk of injury, as it removes the grout-filled gap that often requires repairs. Five large-scale GFRP-reinforced precast concrete planks with one, two and three segments were manufactured, assembled, and tested to evaluate their performance including load-carrying capacity, strain behaviour, cracking propagation, and failure mechanisms. The study revealed that the presence of the GFRP rod can improve the post-failure behaviour of the GFRP-reinforced precast concrete plank segment. Under flexural-shear loading, joint opening, stress concentration on the rod, and concrete crushing at the joint region were observed. Under only shear loading conditions, the no-gap plank displayed increased joint rotation and stiffness with interlaminar failure of the rod. The gaps in the joint have a negative effect on the flexural performance of the segmental plank, resulting in 37 % and 23 % reductions in initial stiffness and load-carrying capacity, respectively. The numerical model which considers the non-linearity of the concrete, accurately describes the behaviour of the no-gap concrete segmental plank. |
| Keywords | Flexural behaviour; Segmental structure; GFRP; No-gap concrete boat ramp plank; Shear behaviour; Numerical analysis |
| Related Output | |
| Is part of | Structural Behaviour of Post-tensioned Pre-cast Segmental Decks for Flood Resilient Pontoons |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 400510. Structural engineering |
| Public Notes | This article is part of a UniSQ Thesis by publication. See Related Output. |
| Byline Affiliations | Centre for Future Materials |
| School of Science, Engineering & Digital Technologies- Surveying & Built Env | |
| School of Science, Engineering and Digital Technologies - Engineering | |
| Institute for Space, Defence and Advanced Technologies | |
| University of Sherbrooke, Canada | |
| Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland | |
| University of South Australia |
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