An experimental program was formulated to investigate the flexural behaviour of concrete prestressed with aramid fibre reinforced plastic tendons (AFRPs). The particular focus was the influence of the bond between an AFRP tendon and concrete on the flexural response of a beam.

In the main test series pre-tensioned concrete beams were cast using either one of two types of AFRP tendons or steel tendons. The influence of bond was studied by testing beams with fully-bonded tendons, unbonded tendons or partially-bonded tendons. It was found that, although the fully-bonded beams had a high ultimate load capacity, only limited rotation occurred prior to failure. In contrast, large rotations were noted in the unbonded beams but the strengths of these members were significantly (25%) lower than those of the fully-bonded beams. The only beams that achieved both a high rotation capacity and a high ultimate load capacity were the beams with partially-bonded tendons.

It is suggested that the use of partially-bonded tendons could provide the basis of a new design method for concrete beams prestressed with FRPs.