Evaluation of Bond Strength in FRP Hybrid Bar Affected by Freezing/thawing Test and UV Rays

FRP Hybrid Bar, composed of an embedded steel and the coated composites with epoxy and glass fiber, is an effective construction material with tension-hardening performance and lightweight. The epoxy exposed to UV(Ultra Violet Rays) and FT(Freezing and Thawing) action easily shows a surface deterioration, which can cause degradation of bonding strength between inside-steel and outside-concrete. In the present work, surface inspection for 3 different samples of normal steel, FRP Hybrid Bar before UV, and FRP Hybrid Bar after UV test was performed, then concrete samples with 3 reinforcement types were prepared for accelerated FT test. Through visual inspection on 3 typed reinforcement, no significant deterioration like chalking was evaluated. The results from FT test to 120 and 180 cycles showed FRP Hybrid Bar exposed to UV test has higher bonding strength than normal steel by 106.3% due to enlarged bond area by silica coating. The 3 cases showed a similar bond strength tendency with increasing FT cycles, however a relatively big deviations of bond strength were evaluated in FRP Hybrid Bar after UV test due to loss of silica coating.