Abstract: Concrete beams reinforced with plastic/basalt fiber composite (BFRP bars) were prepared, whose cracking load, failure load, and deflection bending were tested. The experimental study showed that, due to the low modulus of BFRP bars, the flexural behavior of the beams were featured as following: (1) the beams exhibited a brittle failure; (2) the cracking load and the pre-cracking deflection were little influenced by the fraction of reinforcer; (3) the failure load increased with increasing fraction of reinforcer; (4) the load-deflection curve exhibited a turning point corresponding to cracking.

Key words: basalt fiber reinforced plastic bar, concrete beam, flexural behavior