BEHAVIOUR INVESTIGATION OF FRP BARS IN MORTAR SPECIMENS EXPOSED TO EXTREME CONDITIONS

In the present work, pultruded glass and carbon fibre reinforced composite bars were subjected to UV radiation and exposure to fire conditions, to study the behaviour of FRP bars as reinforcement in concrete, through the Strain Gauges technique. To determine the conditions that most likely attack FRP bars, and to relate these to the environmental conditions found in natural concrete exposure, mortar cubes were reinforced with treated and untreated bars as reference, and were exposed to corrosive environment of 3.5% wt. NaCl solution for 3 months. Swelling stresses, caused by FRP degradation, were monitored using strain gauges. Before casting the FRP reinforcements were subjected to the following treatments: The first group was tested without any treatment, as reference. The second and the third group were heated at 200 and 300°C respectively for 2 hours, in order to simulate fire conditions and finally the forth group was exposed to irradiation with Xenon lamp in order to simulate sunlight exposure. Considerable differences were observed between the CFRP and GFRP behaviour in the case of simulated sunlight exposure. In addition, both CFRP and GFRP reinforcing bars, exposed to simulated sunlight and thermal process, exhibit a different behavior than the reference one. Results obtained confirm the important role of the properties of the matrix in the degradation mechanisms of FRPs, as well as the importance of performance in severe operating environments, fire resistance, and maintainability.

• ABSTRACT

• INTRODUCTION

• MATERIALS AND METHODS

• RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

• CONCLUSIONS

• REFERENCES