The effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of hybrid FRP bars applicable for the reinforcing of concrete structures

Abstract

One of the most common causes of the deterioration of concrete structures is the corrosion of steel reinforcement. Reinforcement made from fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) is considered to be an attractive substitution for traditional reinforcement. The most popular FRP reinforcing bars are made of glass fibers. Basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) is a relatively new material for reinforcing bars. The main drawback of BFRP bars is their low modulus of elasticity. A new type of bar made from hybrid fiber reinforced polymer (HFRP) in which a proportion of the basalt fibers are replaced with carbon fibers can be considered as a solution to this issue; such a bar is presented in this work. The HFRP bars might be treated as a relatively simple modification to previously produced BFRP bars. A different technical characteristic of the fibre reinforced polymer makes the designing of structures with FRP reinforcement differ from conventional reinforced concrete design. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the differences and limitations of their use in concrete structures, taking into account their material and geometric features. Despite the predominance of FRP composites in such aspects as corrosion resistance, high tensile strength, and significant weight reductions of structures – it is necessary to consider the behavior of FRP composites at elevated temperatures. In this paper, the effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of FRP bars was investigated. Three types of FRP bar were tested: BFRP, HFRP in which 25% of basalt fibers were replaced with carbon fibers and nHFRP in which epoxy resin was additionally modified with a nanosilica admixture. The mechanical properties were determined using ASTM standard testing for transverse shear strength. The tests were performed at -20°C, +20°C, +80°C for three diameters of each types of bar.