Analytical solution for the pull-out response of FRP rods embedded in steel tubes filled with cement grout

Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) tendons have been widely used for ground anchors in civil engineering. Although various pull-out tests of FRP rods from grout-filled steel tubes have been conducted to simulate ground anchors in rock, there are relatively few theoretical studies reported in the literature for this type of bonded anchorages. The intention of this paper is to present an analytical solution for predicting the maximum pull-out load of FRP rods embedded in steel tubes filled with cement grout. First, the expression of the shear stress along the thickness direction of the grout layer is obtained analytically. The tensile stress in the rod and the interfacial shear stress at the rod–grout interface are formulated at different loading stages. By modeling interfacial debonding as an interfacial shear crack, the pull-out load is then expressed as a function of the interfacial crack length. Finally, based on the Lagrange multiplier method, the maximum pull-out load and the critical crack length are determined. The validity of the proposed analytical solution is verified with the experimental results obtained from literature. It can be concluded that the proposed analytical solution can predict the maximum pull-out load of spiral wound and indented rods embedded in steel tubes filled with cement grout with reasonable accuracy. The proposed solution can be also applied in predicting the pull-out capacity of steel bars from concrete.