Corrosion resistant reinforcement for sustainable bridges and underground structures.

Abstract

Bridge decks and underground service structures are often exposed to extreme environmental conditions where structural damage due to corrosion is a common phenomenon. This results in reduced service life and expensive repairs. Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) products such as reinforcing rods offer a potential viable alternative to the steel reinforcement, which would allow better service life for structures and much reduced concrete cover as theses bars require minimal environmental protection. Higher service life and reduced quantities of concrete used in FRP reinforced concrete structures can be an attractive feature in terms of sustainability. Carbon FRP (CFRP), Basalt FRP (BFRP) and Glass FRP (GFRP) are the popular corrosion resistant bars that can be used to replace steel to produce more sustainable structures. A case study of two research investigations is discussed in this paper where GFRP and BFRP were used to replace the steel reinforcement without compromising strength and service behaviour of the structures. A comparison between the behaviour of steel reinforced structures with similar FRP reinforced structures and the advantages of building sustainable infrastructure using corrosion resistant reinforcement is also discussed in this paper.