Abstract
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been proposed to replace steel as a reinforcing bar (rebar) due to its high tensile strength and noncorrosive material properties. One obstacle in using FRP rebars is high price. Generally FRP is more expensive than conventional steel rebar. There are mainly two ways to reduce the cost. For example, one is making the price of each composition cost of FRP rebar (e.g., fibers, resin, etc.) lower than steel rebar. Another is making an optimized design for cross section and reducing the material cost. The former approach is not easy because the steel price is very low in comparison with component materials of FRP. For the latter approach, the cost could be cut down by reducing the material cost. Therefore, an idea of making hollow section over the cross section of FRP rebar was proposed in this study by optimizing the cross section design with acceptable tensile performance in comparison with steel rebar. In this study, glass reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars with hollow section and 19 mm of outer diameter were manufactured and tested to evaluate the tensile performance in accordance with the hollowness ratio. From the test results, it was observed that the tensile strength decreased almost linearly with increase of hollowness ratio and the elastic modulus decreased nonlinearly.
Highlights
Galvanized reinforcement has been started to be used in the concrete bridge design after the 1960s due to corrosion problems
fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) can be utilized in marine structures, such as piers and floating structures, or concrete structures exposed to calcium chloride, or when nonmagnetic or nonconductive properties are necessary [3]
The braidtruded FRP rebar experiences loss of its tensile performance due to the voids generated in the section by the air entrained during the resin impregnation of the relatively loose fiber bundles constituting the core of the rebar [16]
Summary
Galvanized reinforcement has been started to be used in the concrete bridge design after the 1960s due to corrosion problems. The electrolysis between the zinc-based coating and steel raised various problems, including damage of the corrosion protective film of the galvanized steel reinforcing bar (rebar), and resulted in its abandonment. FRP is composed of resin and epoxy by fiber and resin and is featured by outstanding properties including noncorrosiveness, high specific strength, fatigue resistance, low specific weight, nonmagnetism, and nonconductivity. Owing to these features, FRP can be utilized in marine structures, such as piers and floating structures, or concrete structures exposed to calcium chloride, or when nonmagnetic or nonconductive properties are necessary [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
