Environmental reduction factors of BFRP bars in coral aggregate concrete in high temperature and high humidity environments

Abstract

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bar-reinforced coral aggregate concrete (CAC) structures are a new solution to help alleviate the shortage of construction materials on islands far from the mainland and the insufficient durability of steel-reinforced concrete components. The long-term tensile strength of FRP bar embedded in CAC in high temperature and humidity marine environments is still uncertain due to the differences between environmental factors and results in laboratories and the field. In this paper, a new approach that considers the effects of relative humidity, external environment temperature, and design life was proposed to obtain environmental reduction factors for FRP bars. In this approach, laboratory results and field environmental parameters were combined to predict the service life of FRP bars in a real environment. The residual tensile strength of BRFP bars in CAC at high temperatures and high humidity in a marine environment was evaluated by accelerated testing. The environmental reduction factors of the BRFP bars were predicted using temperature and humidity data that were collected over one year. The CE values of the BFRP bars in CAC were predicted to be 0.77, 0.75, and 0.73 for 50, 100, and 200 years of service, respectively, in high temperature and high humidity environments.