Experimental Study on the Shear Behavior of GFRP–Concrete Composite Beam Connections

Monotonic push-out tests were carried out on 11 specimens having high-strength bolt, T-type perforated plate, or slot-type perforated plate connections to investigate the influence of different connection types on the interface performance of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)–concrete composite beams. The effects of the number of rows and spacing of high-strength bolts on the failure mode, load–slip relationship, and shear capacity were analyzed. The effects of the number and spacing of holes in the perforated plates, and the inclusion of transverse rebar were analyzed. The results show that the failure mode of the bolt specimens is brittle failure and the perforated plate is ductile failure. The single bolt connection has the lowest ultimate bearing capacity, while the single T-shaped and slotted perforated plates are 170% and 270% times greater. The rows and spacing have no difference in bolts. The perforated plate gradually decreased with an increase in rows and gradually increased with an increase in spacing. The transverse rebar can increase the ultimate bearing capacity and ductility in the plastic stage for perforated plate. Accordingly, there are good choices for interface connectors for GFRP–concrete composite beams, while bolt connectors need to be carefully chosen.