Washington, July 15 (ANI): A new research has determined that concrete columns with internal bars made of glass fibers can make a building sturdier.

In the research, the University of Miami, through its NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center “Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites” (RB2C), performed the first-ever tests of full-scale concrete columns internally reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer bars.

Conventional means of internal reinforcement for concrete member in buildings involve steel bars.

Yet for structures that function in harsh environments like coastal regions, or for structures that support sensitive equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging units; the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is emerging as a valuable option, due to its natural resistance to corrosion, its high strength, light weight, transparency to electrical and magnetic fields and ease of manufacturing and installment.

However, little has been done to study the performance of concrete columns reinforced with FRP bars.

Full-scale experiments are critical to validate the technology, and to produce compelling evidence that underpins rational design methodologies.

To address this need, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center RB2C at the University of Miami (UM) examined the behavior of concrete (RC) columns internally reinforced with glass FRP (GFRP) bars on full-scale specimens for the first time ever.

The new study demonstrates that the behavior of GFRP-RC columns was very similar to that of the conventional steel counterpart.

“The outcomes of our study provide a compelling case to modify existing design guidelines and allow for limited use of GFRP bars in columns, particularly when corrosion resistance or electromagnetic transparency is sought,” said Antonio De Luca, graduate student at the University of Miami College of Engineering.

The next stage of the study is meant to demonstrate that specimen scale does not affect GFRP-RC column specimen performance; and to investigate the behavior of GFRP-RC column specimens subjected to compressive load applied with a small eccentricity. (ANI)