Durability of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement Embedded in Concrete

Abstract

Many pretensioning prestressed concrete (PC) beams using the grid glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcements as prestressing tendons were manufactured. The initial prestressing forces were selected at various levels, namely from 0 to 52.5% of the tensile capacity of the grid GFRP reinforcement. Then, the PC beams were left outdoors for a long time, namely from seven to eight years. Thereafter, they were demolished to take the grid GFRP reinforcements out. First, these tests on tensile properties of the grid GFRP reinforcements were carried out. Their residual tensile capacities decreased only a little, and moreover, their residual tensile rigidities did not change. Then, the cross sections of the glass fibers of the grid GFRP reinforcements were observed with a scanning ele3ctron microscope (SEM). The cross sections remained real circular and the glass fibers were not attacked by alkali of concrete.