PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL, AND DURABILITY PERFORMANCE OF GFRP SQUARE REINFORCING BARS EXPOSED TO ALKALINE SOLUTION

This paper presents an experimental study that investigated the mechanical, physical , and durability characterization of square glass fibre - reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars exposed to alkaline solution. The GFRP square bars were exposed to alkaline solution at 22, 40, and 60°C to accelerate the effect of the concrete environment. The measured tensile strengths of the GFRP square bars before and after exposure were considered as a measure of the durability performance of the specimens and were used for long - term properties predic tion based on the Arrhenius theory. The test results showed the very high long - term durability of square GFRP bars exposed to alkaline solutions. According to the predictions, even after a service life of 100 years at 32 o C , the tensile - strength retention of the tested GFRP bars would still be over 9 5 % for GFRP square bars.