Tensile properties degradation of glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars embedded in concrete under severe laboratory and field environmental conditions

This paper presents the test results of an experimental study to investigate the durability of newly developed glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars. The main objective of this study is to investigate any degradation in the tensile properties of the glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars using accelerated aging methods. Glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars were embedded in concrete prisms and exposed to several environmental conditions for 6, 12, and 18 months. The environments included exposure to tap water and seawater at two temperatures (room temperature and 50°C), seawater dry/wet cycles and alkaline solution at 50°C. In addition, two typical field conditions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Gulf area and Riyadh area) were included. The performance of the glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars was evaluated by conducting tensile tests on the bars extracted out from the concrete prisms after exposure to different conditions. In addition, scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the degradation mechanism of the bars. After 18 months of exposure, test results showed that both the tap water at 50°C and the alkaline solution at 50°C had the maximum harmful effect on the tensile strength of glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars. The two field conditions showed almost no degradation in the tensile properties of the tested bars.

[1]  Brahim Benmokrane,et al.  Durability of GFRP bars: a critical review of the literature , 2005 .

[2]  Brahim Benmokrane,et al.  Durability of GFRP Reinforcing Bars Embedded in Moist Concrete , 2009 .

[3]  S. Syed.  Atmospheric corrosion of hot and cold rolled carbon steel under field exposure in Saudi Arabia , 2008 .

[4]  Edoardo Cosenza,et al.  Durability issues of FRP rebars in reinforced concrete members , 2006 .

[5]  R. Granata,et al.  Durability of Composite Materials and Structures , 2009 .

[6]  F. Micelli,et al.  Durability of FRP rods for concrete structures , 2004 .

[7]  B. Benmokrane,et al.  Behavior of concrete bridge deck slabs reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer bars under concentrated loads , 2005 .

[8]  R. Tepfers,et al.  Durability and service life prediction of GFRP for concrete reinforcement , 2001 .

[9]  Julio F. Davalos,et al.  Accelerated aging tests for evaluations of durability performance of FRP reinforcing bars for concrete structures , 2007 .

[10]  V. Karbhari,et al.  Durability evaluation of moderate temperature cured E-glass/vinylester systems , 2004 .

[11]  T. Uomoto.  DURABILITY DESIGN OF GFRP RODS FOR CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT , 2003 .

[12]  B. Benmokrane,et al.  Influence of Reinforcement on the Behavior of Concrete Bridge Deck Slabs Reinforced with FRP Bars , 2007 .

[13]  Tarek H. Almusallam,et al.  Durability of GFRP Rebars in Concrete Beams under Sustained Loads at Severe Environments , 2006 .

[14]  R. Masmoudi,et al.  Long-term bond performance of GFRP bars in concrete under temperature ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C , 2011 .

[15]  Carl R. Schultheisz,et al.  Effects of environmental aging on the properties of pultruded GFRP , 1999 .

[16]  T. Almusallam,et al.  Creep effect on the behavior of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars subjected to different environments , 2007 .

[17]  Young-Jun You,et al.  Short-term durability test for GFRP rods under various environmental conditions , 2008 .

[18]  Rajan Sen,et al.  Durability of E-Glass/Vinylester Reinforcement in Alkaline Solution , 2002 .

[19]  J. G. Ferreiraa,et al.  DURABILITY OF GLASS FIBRE REINFORCED POLYESTER ( GFRP ) PULTRUDED PROFILES USED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS , 2005 .

[20]  Hamid Saadatmanesh,et al.  Environmental Effects on the Mechanical Properties of E-Glass FRP Rebars , 1998 .

[21]  Valter Dejke,et al.  Durability of FRP reinforcement in concrete : literature review and experiments , 2001 .

[22]  Francisco Aguiniga Gaona.  Characterization of design parameters for fiber reinforced polymer composite reinforced concrete systems , 2004 .

[23]  Neil G. Thompson,et al.  CORROSION OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES: ECONOMIC IMPACT AND CONTROL METHODOLOGIES , 2003 .

[24]  Brahim Benmokrane,et al.  Durability of GFRP Reinforced Concrete in Field Structures , 2005, SP-230: 7th International Symposium on Fiber-Reinforced (FRP) Polymer Reinforcement for Concrete Structures.