Long-term durability prediction models for GFRP bars in concrete environment

This article presents a durability study of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars within concrete environment and provides recommendations for effective accelerated ageing methods, data reduction and validation, and formulation of master curves for long-term predictions. Concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars were immersed in tap water inside temperature-controlled tanks. Sustained load was applied to beam samples, and elevated temperatures were used to accelerate the ageing of GFRP bars. After exposure, GFRP bars were tested for residual tensile strength, which was considered as a measure of the durability performance of the specimens. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were used to evaluate the microstructural changes of conditioned specimens. Short-term (up to 270 days) results showed that compared to alkalinity and low sustained load, moisture and elevated temperature played much more important roles in accelerating environmental attack to GFRP bars. Based on the short-term test results, the dominant degradation mechanism for GFRP bars in concrete was found as the deterioration of fiber/matrix interface. A degradation model based on Arrhenius concept and prediction procedures are given, and correlations with other studies and field data are provided. The tensile strength retentions for GFRP bars in saturated concrete subjected to sustained load were predicted. It was found that degradation rates decreased rapidly, but tensile strength retentions at different exposure temperatures converge to a constant value with the increase of exposure time. Beyond fiber-matrix debonding, there is a possibility that other degradation mechanisms such as fiber corrosion may start to dominate the deterioration process of GFRP bars with time.