State-of-the-Practice of Global Manufacturing of FRP Rebar and Specifications

摘要

One of the main reasons for the degradation of our infrastructure is steel corrosion in reinforced concrete. To com- bat that issue, alternative non-corrosive materials, such as fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars, were developed and implemented as internal reinforcement for concrete structures. Because of significant physio-mechanical advantages (magnetic transparency, high strength, corrosion resistance, etc.), the adoption of FRP rebars increased rapidly through- out the last decades. Due to an increased material demand, the number of FRP rebar manufacturers grew, but each manufacturer started to develop proprietary products, with wide ranging properties - the industry is in need for guidance and unification. Therefore, this study aims to centralize the relevant information by (ⅰ) summarizing the globally available regulations, (ⅱ) providing background data for the present production status, and (ⅲ) listing the currently produced FRP rebars in an effort to compare their physio-mechanical properties. Analysis of the market showed that 27 manufacturers produce FRP rebars in 14 countries with diverse output quantities and different distribution logistics. The various production approaches lead to different rebar types with dissimilar surface properties and significant strength differences.