TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of harsh environmental conditions on the tensile properties of GFRP bars
AU - Al-Salloum, Yousef A.
AU - El-Gamal, Sherif
AU - Almusallam, Tarek H.
AU - Alsayed, Saleh H.
AU - Aqel, Mohammed
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), College of Engineering, King Saud University, for funding the research presented in this paper.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - This paper presents the test results of an experimental study carried out to investigate the residual tensile properties of new generation of GFRP bars after being subjected to several harsh environmental conditions for different periods. The bars were exposed to ten different environmental conditions for 6, 12, and 18 months. In addition to a control laboratory condition, the environments included exposure to ordinary tap water and sea water at two temperatures (room and 50 °C), sea water dry/wet, alkaline solution, and hot-dry condition at 50 °C. Furthermore, the environments included two typical harsh field conditions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The performance of the GFRP bars was evaluated by conducting tensile tests on the bars after different exposure periods. Scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the degradation mechanism of the bars. After 18 months of exposure, the test results showed that at 50 °C the tap water and alkaline solution had the maximum harmful effect on the tensile strength of the tested GFRP bars. The two field conditions considered in the present study did not show any significant effect on the tensile properties of the bars. The test results also showed that the GFRP bars tested in this study had better resistance to alkalinity and water compared to most of the GFRP bars in the literature.
AB - This paper presents the test results of an experimental study carried out to investigate the residual tensile properties of new generation of GFRP bars after being subjected to several harsh environmental conditions for different periods. The bars were exposed to ten different environmental conditions for 6, 12, and 18 months. In addition to a control laboratory condition, the environments included exposure to ordinary tap water and sea water at two temperatures (room and 50 °C), sea water dry/wet, alkaline solution, and hot-dry condition at 50 °C. Furthermore, the environments included two typical harsh field conditions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The performance of the GFRP bars was evaluated by conducting tensile tests on the bars after different exposure periods. Scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the degradation mechanism of the bars. After 18 months of exposure, the test results showed that at 50 °C the tap water and alkaline solution had the maximum harmful effect on the tensile strength of the tested GFRP bars. The two field conditions considered in the present study did not show any significant effect on the tensile properties of the bars. The test results also showed that the GFRP bars tested in this study had better resistance to alkalinity and water compared to most of the GFRP bars in the literature.
KW - A. Glass fibers
KW - B. High-temperature properties
KW - B. Strength
KW - D. Electron microscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84869491484&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869491484&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.05.004
DO - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.05.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84869491484
SN - 1359-8368
VL - 45
SP - 835
EP - 844
JO - Composites Part B: Engineering
JF - Composites Part B: Engineering
IS - 1
ER -