Evaluation of Buckling Resistance of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer Plate

Abstract

Basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) is known as an excellent material used to strengthen reinforced concrete structures. BFRP is attached to beam, slab or column, which would be subject to compressive and bending load. Since the thickness of BFRP plate is relatively thin, the buckling problem is a concern. However, investigation of mechanical properties and buckling resistance of BFRP plate has been very limited. In this paper, the mechanical properties of BFRP were experimentally investigated using tensile test and in-plane shear test. Because the mechanical properties of BFRP depend on the type of resin, three types of BFRP: basalt/polyester, basalt/vinyl ester and basalt/epoxy, were used in a tensile test to optimize the resin. To evaluate the buckling behavior of BFRP plate, a numerical approach was established using the finite element method. The results of the mechanical properties of BFRP were then used to determine the buckling resistance. Based on the experimental results, the tensile strength of BFRP that consisted of basalt/epoxy was 4.8% and 2.4% greater than those consisting of basalt/polyesters and basalt/vinyl ester, respectively. It was also found that the elastic modulus of BFRP was approximately 11.26% larger than that of GFRP. The numerical results indicated that the buckling resistance of BFRP plate was 10.3% to 10.7% greater than that of GFRP depending on loading condition, fiber orientation, aspect ratio and boundary condition of the laminate plate. Therefore, using BFRP laminate composite plate in retrofitting of concrete structure provides better performance than GFRP in terms of mechanical properties and buckling performance.