Prepared for University of Rhode Island Transportation Center Fiber Reinforcement of Concrete Structures

DISCLAIMER This report, prepared in cooperation with the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center, does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The contents of this report reflect the views of the author(s) who is (are) responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. Deterioration of concrete structures due to steel corrosion is a matter of considerable concern since the repairing of these structures proved to be a costly process. Repair and rehabilitation of the civil structures needs an enduring repair material. The ideal durable repair material should have low shrinkage, good thermal expansion, substantial modulus of ela sticity, high tensile strength, improved fatigue and impact resistance. Reinforcing the concrete structures with fibers such as polypropylene is one of the possible ways to provide all the criteria of the durable repair material. This type of reinforcement is called F iber Reinforcement of Concrete Structures. There is an increasing worldwide interest in utilizing fiber reinforced concrete structures for civil infrastructure applications. The bonding between the fibers and the concrete has to be good and the plastic has to withstand the changing environment of freeze and thaw as well as a high PH of 12.5 and a low of PH 6.5 when saturated with sodium chloride. With these brand new materials, little is known about the effect of fiber percentage on fracture properties under hot and cold conditions and when saturated with seawater. This information is necessary to be able to study the freeze-thaw durability of the fiber reinforced concrete structures under different environmental conditions and also in the marine environment.