Mechanical Behavior and Design of FRP Structural Members at High and Low Service Temperatures
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20, Issue 5
Abstract
Current design manuals for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) structures only allow limited application of FRP in high-temperature environments. However, the residual mechanical properties of FRP composites at high service temperatures should be considered. This paper presents the results of bending tests on FRP coupon specimens at temperatures from 25 to 120°C and of compression tests on FRP components at temperatures from to 90°C. Although the mechanical properties decrease with increasing temperature, they retain residual strength and stiffness at high service temperatures. The influence of subzero temperatures on the mechanical properties is negligible. Additionally, the flexural properties of the coupon specimens and the compressive properties of the components were experimentally investigated after high-normal temperature cycles, which alternated between 45 and 135°C every 12 h. The results show that repeated high-normal temperature cycles have little effect on the mechanical properties. The simultaneous effects of loading and high-temperature environments on FRP structures should be considered during design. Thus, this paper proposes a design method for calculating the loading capacity of FRP members at different temperatures. Experimental data from literature and this study were normalized and compared with the results predicted by this method. As expected, the proposed method provides a lower envelope of experimental data for both strength and modulus. Thus, the design method can conservatively estimate various mechanical properties of FRP structural members under different loading conditions at high service temperatures. Additionally, the method can be conveniently established and applied in design.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2012CB026200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51478246, 51278276), and the Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project (No. YETP0078).
References
AQSIQ and SAC (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine/Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China). (2005a). “Fiber-reinforced plastic composites: Determination of flexural properties.” GB/T 1449-2005, Beijing (in Chinese).
ASCE. (2010). “Pre-standard for load and resistance factor design (LRFD) of pultruded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structures.”, Reston, VA.
ASTM. (2014). “Standard guide for design, fabrication, and erection of fiberglass reinforced (FRP) plastic chimney liners with coal-fired units.” ASTM D5364-14, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bai, Y., and Keller, T. (2007). “Modeling of post-fire stiffness of E-glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites.” Compos. Part A, 38(10), 2142–2153.
Bai, Y., and Keller, T. (2009). “Modeling of strength degradation for fiber-reinforced polymer composites in fire.” J. Compos. Mater., 43(21), 2371–2385.
Bai, Y., Keller, T., and Vallée, T. (2008). “Modeling of stiffness of FRP composites under elevated and high temperatures.” Compos. Sci. Technol., 68(15), 3099–3106.
Bank, L. C., Gentry, T. R., Thompson, B. P., and Russell, J. S. (2003). “A model specification for FRP composites for civil engineering structures.” Constr. Build. Mater., 17(6), 405–437.
Bisby, L. A., Green, M. F., and Kodur, V. K. (2005). “Response to fire of concrete structures that incorporate FRP.” Prog. Struct. Eng. Mater., 7(3), 136–149.
Blontrock, H., Taerwe, L., and Matthys, S. (1999). “Properties of fiber reinforced plastics at elevated temperatures with regard to fire resistance of reinforced concrete members.” ACI, 188, 43–54.
Cao, S., Zhis, W., and Wang, X. (2009). “Tensile properties of CFRP and hybrid FRP composites at elevated temperatures.” J. Compos. Mater., 43(4), 315–330.
Carra, G., and Carvelli, V. (2014). “Ageing of pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymer composites exposed to combined environmental agents.” Compos. Struct., 108, 1019–1026.
Chowdhury, E., Eedson, R., Bisby, L., Green, M., and Benichou, N. (2011). “Mechanical characterization of fibre reinforced polymers materials at high temperature.” Fire Technol., 47(4), 1063–1080.
Dutta, P. K., and Hui, D. (1996). “Low-temperature and freeze-thaw durability of thick composites.” Compos. Part B, 27(3-4), 371–379.
Engindeniz, M., and Zureick, A.-H. (2008). “Deflection response of glass fiber-reinforced pultruded components in hot weather climates.” J. Compos. Constr., 355–363.
Feih, S., Mouritz, A., Mathys, Z., and Gibson, A. (2007). “Tensile strength modeling of glass fiber-polymer composites in fire.” J. Compos. Mater., 41(19), 2387–2410.
Feng, P., Hu, L., Zhao, X.-L., Cheng, L., and Xu, S. (2014a). “Study on thermal effects on fatigue behavior of cracked steel plates strengthened by CFRP sheets.” Thin Wall Struct., 82, 311–320.
Feng, P., Wang, J., Wang, Y., Loughery, D., and Niu, D. (2014b). “Effects of corrosive environments on properties of pultruded GFRP plates.” Compos. Part B, 67, 427–433.
Gao, W., Dai, J., and Teng, J. (2015). “Simple method for predicting temperatures in insulated, FRP-strengthened RC members exposed to a standard fire.” J. Compos. Constr., 04015013.
Gibson, A., Browne, T., Feih, S., and Mouritz, A. (2012). “Modeling composite high temperature behavior and fire response under load.” J. Compos. Mater., 46(16), 2005–2022.
Gibson, A., Wu, Y.-S., Evans, J., and Mouritz, A. (2006). “Laminate theory analysis of composites under load in fire.” J. Compos. Mater., 40(7), 639–658.
Hu, X., and Shentu, N. (2005). “The applications of the CBF in war industry & civil fields.” Hi-Tech. Fiber Appl., 30(6), 7–13.
Karbhari, V., et al. (2003). “Durability gap analysis for fiber-reinforced polymer composites in civil infrastructure.” J. Compos. Constr., 238–247.
Mahieux, C., and Reifsnider, K. (2001). “Property modeling across transition temperatures in polymers: A robust stiffness-temperature model.” Polymer, 42(7), 3281–3291.
Mahieux, C., and Reifsnider, K. (2002). “Property modeling across transition temperatures in polymers: Application to thermoplastic systems.” J. Mater. Sci., 37(5), 911–920.
Mahieux, C., Reifsnider, K., and Case, S. (2001). “Property modeling across transition temperatures in PMC’s: Part I. Tensile properties.” Appl. Compos. Mater., 8(4), 217–234.
Nardone, F., Di Ludovico, M., De Caso y Basalo, F. J., Prota, A., and Nanni, A. (2012). “Tensile behavior of epoxy based FRP composites under extreme service conditions.” Compos. Part B, 43(3), 1468–1474.
Strongwell. (2013). “Strongwell design manual.” ⟨http://www.strongwell.com/literature/design_manual/⟩ (Jun. 2, 2015).
Wang, Y., and Kodur, V. (2005). “Variation of strength and stiffness of fibre reinforced polymer reinforcing bars with temperature.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 27(9), 864–874.
Wang, Y. C., Wong, P. M. H., and Kodur, V. (2007). “An experimental study of the mechanical properties of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel reinforcing bars at elevated temperatures.” Compos. Struct., 80(1), 131–140.
Wong, P., Davies, J., and Wang, Y. (2004). “An experimental and numerical study of the behaviour of glass fibre reinforced plastics (GRP) short columns at elevated temperatures.” Compos. Struct., 63(1), 33–43.
Wong, P., and Wang, Y. (2007). “An experimental study of pultruded glass fibre reinforced plastics channel columns at elevated temperatures.” Compos. Struct., 81(1), 84–95.
Zhang, Y., Vassilopoulos, A. P., and Keller, T. (2010). “Effects of low and high temperatures on tensile behavior of adhesively-bonded GFRP joints.” Compos. Struct., 92(7), 1631–1639.
Zhu, H.-G., Leung, C. K., Kim, J.-K., and Liu, M.-Y. (2012). “Tensile properties degradation of GFRP composites containing nanoclay in three different environments.” J. Compos. Mater., 46(18), 2179–2192.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20 • Issue 5 • October 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 17, 2015
Accepted: Dec 8, 2015
Published online: Feb 18, 2016
Discussion open until: Jul 18, 2016
Published in print: Oct 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.