Durability of GFRP Reinforcing Bars Embedded in Moist Concrete
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 13, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper presents mechanical, microstructural, and physical characterization of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars exposed to concrete environment. GFRP bars were embedded in concrete and exposed to tap water at 23, 40, and to accelerate the effect of the concrete environment. The measured tensile strengths of the bars before and after exposure were considered as a measure of the durability performance of the specimens and were used for long-term properties prediction based on the Arrhenius theory. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the aging effect on the GFRP reinforcing bars. The results showed that the durability of mortar-wrapped GFRP bars and exposed to tap water was less affected by accelerated aging than the bars exposed to simulated pore-water solution. These results confirmed that the concerns about the durability of GFRP bars in concrete, based on simulated laboratory studies in alkaline solutions, do not properly correspond to the actual service life in concrete environments.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence on Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS Canada).NRC
References
ASTM. (2000). “Standard test methods for density and specific gravity, (relative density) of plastics by displacement.” ASTM D 192, Philadelphia.
ASTM. (2003a). “Standard test method for assignment of the glass transition temperature by differential scanning calorimetry.” ASTM E 1356, Philadelphia.
ASTM. (2003b). “Standard test method for compositional analysis by thermogravimetry.” ASTM E 1131, Philadelphia.
ASTM. (2005). “Standard specification for Portland cement.” ASTM C 150, Philadelphia.
Bank, L. C., Gentry, T. R., Thompson, B. P., and Russel, J. S. (2003). “A model specification for composites for civil engineering structures.” Constr. Build. Mater., 17(6–7), 405–437.
Benmokrane, B., and Wang, P. (2002). “Durability of FRP composites for civil infrastructures applications, a state of art report.” Technical Rep., Univ. of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Qué., Canada.
Benmokrane, B., Wang, P., Ton-That, T., Rahman, H., and Robert, J. (2002). “Durability of glass fibre reinforced polymer reinforcing bars in concrete environment.” J. Compos. Constr., 6(2), 143–153.
Canadian Standards Association (CSA). (2006). “Canadian highway bridge design code.” CAN/CSA-S6-06, Rexdale, Ont., Canada.
Chen, Y., Davalos, J. F., and Ray, I. (2006). “Durability prediction for GFRP bars using short-term data of accelerated aging tests.” J. Compos. Constr., 10(4), 279–286.
Chen, Y., Davalos, J. F., Ray, I., and Kim, H. Y. (2007). “Accelerated aging tests for evaluation of durability performance of FRP reinforcing bars reinforcing bars for concrete structures.” Compos. Struct., 78(1), 101–111.
Dejke, V. (1999). “Durability of fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) as reinforcement concrete structures.” Publication No. P-98:18, Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.
Dejke, V. (2001). “Durability of FRP reinforcement in concrete-literature review and experiments.” Thesis, Degree of Licentiate of Engineering, Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.
Diamond, S. (1981). “Effects of two Danish flyashes on alkali contents of pore solutions of cement fly ash pastes.” Cem. Concr. Res., 11, 383–394.
Gerritse, A. (1998). “Assessment of long term performance of FRP bars in concrete structures.” Proc., Durability of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Composites for Construction, B. Benmokrane and H. Rahman, eds., Sherbrooke, Qué., Canada, 285–297.
Katsuki, F., and Uomoto, T. (1995). “Prediction of deterioration of FRP rods due to alkali attack.” Proc., Non-Metallic (FRP) Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, L. Taerwe, ed., Ghent, Belgium, 108–115.
Litherland, K. L., Okley, D. R., and Proctor, B. A. (1981). “The use of accelerated aging procedures to predict the long term strength of GRC composites.” Cem. Concr. Res., 11, 455–466.
Micelli, F., and Nanni, A. (2004). “Durability of FRP rods for concrete structures.” Constr. Build. Mater., 18(7), 491–503.
Mufti, A. A., Banthia, N., Benmokrane, B., Boulfiza, M., and Newhook, J. P. (2007). “Durability of GFRP composite rods.” Concr. Int., 29(2), 37–42.
Murphy, K., Zhang, S., and Karbhari, V. M. (1999). “Effect of concrete based alkaline solutions on short term response of composites.” Proc., 44th Int. SAMPE Symp. and Exhibition, L. J. Cohen, J. L. Bauer, and W. E. Davis, eds., Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, Long Beach, Calif., 2222–2230.
Nelson, W. (1990). Accelerated testing—Statistical models, test plans, and data analyses, Wiley, New York.
Nkurunziza, G. (2004). “Performance de barres d’armature en polymères renforcés de fibre (PRF) de verre pour des structures en béton sous les effets combinés de la charge soutenue, de la température et de l’environnement humide et alcalin.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Qué., Canada (in French).
Porter, M. L., Mehus, J., Young, K. A., O’Neil, E. F., and Barnes, B. A. (1997). “Aging for fiber reinforcement in concrete.” Proc., 3rd Int. Symp. on Non-Metallic (FRP) Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, Vol. 2, Japan Concrete Institute, Sapporo, Japan, 59–66.
Pultrall Inc. (2005) “FRP reinforcing bars data sheet.” ⟨www.pultrall.com⟩.
Sen, R., Shahawy, M., Mullins, G., and Spain, J. (1999). “Durability of carbon fiber reinforced polymer/epoxy/concrete bond in marine environment.” ACI Struct. J., 96(6), 906–914.
Taylor, H. F. W. (1987). “A method for predicting alkali ion concentration in cement pore water solutions.” Adv. Cem. Res., 1(1), 5–16.
Wang, P. (2005). “Effect of moisture, temperature, and alkaline on durability of E-glass/vinyl ester reinforcing bars.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Qué., Canada.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 13 • Issue 2 • April 2009
Pages: 66 - 73
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 4, 2007
Accepted: Nov 25, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
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.