AGING DEGRADATION OF FIBER COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENTS FOR STRUCTURAL CONCRETE

摘要

Over the last decade, fiber-reinforced-plastic (FRP) reinforcement such as glass, carbon, or aramid fibers embedded in a resin such as vinyl ester, epoxy, or polyester has emerged as one of the most exciting and promising solutions to the deterioration problem caused by the corrosion of steel reinforcement in structural concrete. The high pH of the concrete pore water creates a potentially damaging environment for the FRP reinforcement, and this possible vulnerability highlights the strong need for long term durability studies of different fibers and resin systems that may be used in this application. The research conducted in this investigation involved a study of accelerated aging effects on commercially available (off-the-shelf) FRP reinforcement for regular and prestressed concrete, simulating approximately 50 years of real-time aging. The specimens were exposed to an aging solution with a high pH (simulating a concrete environment) and elevated temperature to accelerate the aging process. This paper will present some of the results from this research.