CHARACTERIZATION AND LONG-TERM DURABILITY PERFORMANCE OF NON- CORRODIBLE GLASS FRP REINFORCING BARS EMBEDDED IN MOIST CONCRETE

摘要

Several research works were carried out to investigate the durability of GFRP reinforcing bars under different environmental conditions anticipated to exist under actual service conditions. In order to evaluate the long-term durability performance of FRP in alkaline environment, extensive studies have been conducted to develop accelerated aging procedures and predictive models for long-term strength prediction, especially for GFRP bars. This paper presents mechanical, microstructural and physical characterization of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars exposed to concrete environment. GFRP bars were embedded in concrete and exposed to tap water at 23, 40, and 50°C to accelerate the effect of the concrete environment. The main objectives of this study are: 1) to simulate the real conditions of GFRP bars in concrete structures by immersing mortar-wrapped GFRP bars in a tap water at different temperatures; 2) to investigate the durability performance of the GFRP bars; and 3) to predict the long-term properties of the GFRP bars subjected to wet environment at different temperatures based on the Arrhenius model.