Durability Assessment of 15- to 20-Year-Old GFRP Bars Extracted from Bridges in the US. II: GFRP Bar Assessment

A multilaboratory investigation into the durability of glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars extracted from eleven 15- to 20-year-old bridges in US will be performed. Part 1 (Benzecry et al., forthcoming) this two-paper series describes and presents data on condition their concrete, 2 focuses bars. Constituent content, maximum water absorption, as-received moisture transition temperature (Tg), short bar shear (SBS) strength, tensile strength evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) The fiber mass content all was close or greater than that specified current ASTM E1309 (ASTM 2011a) GFRP standard. SEM EDS showed only slight signs degradation, which predominantly near outer radius loss SBS moderate with control for comparison. Tensile could evaluated bridge, a reduction 4.2% after 17 years service. It concluded considered promising replacement steel reinforcement bridge decks subjected real-time field exposure.