EFFECTS OF COMBINED ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS ON PULTRUDED GFRP COMPOSITES FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS

摘要

In several civil engineering applications, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are currently used as reinforcing rods, wraps for seismic retrofit of columns, externally bonded reinforcement for strengthening of walls, beams, and slabs, composite bridge decks, hybrid and all-composites structural systems. Their advantages are: low weight, high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios, ease of installation on the construction sites and potentially high overall durability. The properties of FRP composites are relatively known to scientists and engineers. Many concerns about the overall durability of these materials when exposed to severe environmental conditions are still under investigation [1]. Several environmental agents generate ageing mechanisms in these materials, but the currently available data in literature are generally limited to the effect of a single or a couple of environmental agents: low temperature, elevated temperature, moisture absorption and UV radiation.