Determination of the compressive and tendile moduli of the pultruited bars by bending tests

Abstract

Corrosion of the steel bars is the first cause of degradation of the reinforced concrete structures. This is the reason why in recent years non-corrosive materials are using to increase the useful life of these structures. Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars are an alternative to traditional steel bars. These bars are manufactured from continuous glass fiber embedded in a polymeric resin by the pultrusión process. Due to the great variability in the mechanical properties provided by manufacturers, it may be useful to define a test procedure to characterize the material in a simple manner. This work shows a procedure to determine the compression, tensile and flexural moduli of a GFRP bar by means of bending tests.