FIBRE REINFORCED PLASTICS NEW AGE

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AN OVERVIEW BY MADHU B.S.

1 INTRODUCTION
With the increasing diversity of structures and the desire for new materials of construction, many unconventional materials such as com osites are !eing ado ted. During the ast two decades the a lications of com osite materials have grown ra idly and are now very common around the world.

3 CONSTITUENT MATERIALS

"t is a well#$nown fact that %&' consists of high erformance fi!res and a matri(. )he various fi!res are* glass fi!res, ceramics +li$e silicon car!ide, silicon nitride etc,, car!on fi!res, tungsten, cold drawn wires etc. Among the newly e( lored ossi!ilities are those made from -oir, Hem , .ute, %la( etc. )he matri( is usually a resin system which are usually an unsaturated olyester resins to which additives, catalysts and igments are added to achieve s ecific ur oses

THE DESIRABLE PROPERTIES OF FIBRES AND MATRIX 3.1 Fibre

/. Should have a high tensile strength. 0. 1ariation of strength among individual fi!res should !e as small as ossi!le. 2. Should !elong to the same ty e, should have cross sectional diameter and surface area uniform.

Some of the 'hysical and Mechanical 'ro erties of a few fi!res are ta!ulated as !elow )a!le 2./ 'hysical and Mechanical 'ro erties of 3lass %i!re* %i!re )y e +/,. Diameter +m, +0,. Density +$g8m2, +2,. )ensile Modulus +3'a, +6,. )ensile Strength +M a, +9,. < 4longation +=,. -oefficient of thermal e( ansion +8-, +;,. S ecific 3ravity 4#3lass 5#/6 0967 ;0.67 0677 /.5#2.0 9 0.96 S#3lass /7 06:7 59.9 2697 9#; 9#= 0.6:

)a!le 2.0 'hysical and Mechanical 'ro erties of -ar!on %i!re %i!re )y e 'oly acrolonitrilie +'A>, /7#// +/, Diameter+m, 2 +0, Density+$g8m , 0707 +2, )ensile Modulus +3'a, 269 +6, )ensile Strength +M'a, 2977 +9, < 4longation 7.6#7.: #7.: to /.= +=, -oefficient of thermal e( ansion +8-, +;, S ecific 3ravity 0.70 )a!le 2.2 'hysical and Mechanical 'ro erties of Aramid %i!re %i!re )y e +/, Diameter +m, +0, Density +$g8m2, +2, )ensile Modulus +3'a, +6, )ensile Strength +M a, +9, < 4longation +=, -oefficient of thermal e( ansion +8-, +;, S ecific 3ravity ?evlar /0 /667 =0 0;=7 2#6 #0 /.66 %i!ra 25 :;7 //; 0957 6#9 ## 7.:;

3.2 M !ri" /. "t should transfer the stress to fi!res efficiently !y adhesion or friction. 0. "t should not react chemically with the fi!res.

2. "t should !ind the fi!res and fa!rication etc.

rotect its surface from damage during handling,

'olymers used as matri( materials are commonly referred to as resins. )here are two !asic classes of resins. )hey are* / )hermosets @ when heated they undergo an irreversi!le chemical change called curing. )hey chemically cross lin$ and develo a networ$ structure that sets them in sha e. "f they are heated after they have !een cured they do not melt. 0 )hermo lastics @ )hese resins melts when heated and solidify when cooled. Ance they initially melt to form the com osite, heating a!ove the lower forming tem erature can resha e them. Some of the 'hysical and Mechanical 'ro erties of resins are listed in )a!le 2.6 )a!le 2.9 'hysical And Mechanical 'ro erties of resins %i!re ty e +/,. Density +$g8m2, +0,. )ensile Modulus +3 a, +2,. )ensile Strength +M'a, +6,. < 4longation +9,. S ecific 3ravity 'olyester //77#/977 =0 0;=7 2#6 /./#/.9 1inylester :;7 //; 0957 6#9 7.:; 4 o(y //77#/677 0#= 29#/97 /#5.9 /./7#/./6

3.3 FIBRE MATRIX INTERFACE

A !undle of fi!res !y itself is useless as a load !earing structure, !ut em!edding the fi!re in a resin matri( gives the necessary stiffness in shear and com ression. )he fi!re and the matri( are mutually reinforcing* the strong stiff fi!re carries most of the

stress and the olymer matri( distri!utes the e(ternal load to all the fi!res, while at the same time rotecting them. )his load sharing reBuires that stress !e transferred across the interface !etween the fi!re and resin. )here is no shar well defined interface !etween the fi!re and resin, for the fi!re is coated with a heterogeneous mi(ture forming the matri( of the com osite structure .)he whole interfacial region is a!out /7#C mm thic$ or greater. Stress can only !e transferred across an interface !etween two materials if they are in intimate molecular contact with each other, se arated only !y a!out the same distance as the molecules inside the !ul$ materials. )he materials are then said to !e adhering to each other. )here need not !e any chemical lin$ing of the materialsD they merely have to !e so close that the normal intermolecular forces are o erative. )he lastic flow of the matri( under stress transfers the load to the fi!res. As a result a high modulus com osite is o!tained. A ty ical %&' reinforcement will consist of =7<to =9< of fi!res and the remaining cross section is the matri(.

# COMMON FABRICATION METHODS

Some of the common fa!rication methods are*

A, -ustom -ontact Moulding /, Hand Eay u 0, S ray Eay u rocess rocess

B, %ilament Winding -, 'ultrusion D, &esin )ransfer Moulding

$ COMPARISON WITH OTHER STRUCTURAL MATERIALS )here is a very large range of mechanical ro erties that can !e achieved with com osite materials. 4ven when considering one fi!re ty e on its own, the com osite ro erties can vary !y a factor of /7 with the range of fi!re contents and orientations that are commonly achieved. )he com arisons that follow therefore show a range of 6

mechanical

ro erties for the com osite materials. )he lowest

ro erties for each

material are associated with sim le manufacturing rocess and material forms +e.g. s ray lay u glass fi!re,, and the higher ro erties are associated with higher technology manufacture +e.g. autoclave moulding of unidirectional glass fi!re,, such as would !e found in the aeros ace industry. )he gra h !elow shows the )ensile Strength of -ommon Structural Materials.

)ensile Strength of -ommon Structural Materials

% MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF COMPOSITES

)he mechanical ro erties of the com osites de end, to a large e(tent, on the ro ortion of fi!re, which they contain. )he ro ortion of fi!re is, in turn a matter of the arrangement of fi!res# the more closely can the fi!res !e conseBuently, the ma(imum ossi!le ro ortion of the fi!re. ac$ed and higher,

)he first of the three categories into which com osites may !e divided is that in which the fi!res are randomly distri!uted within the lastic matri(. )he fi!res are generally short and !ecause they are randomly arranged the ma(imum ro ortion of fi!re is limited to a!out 97< !y weight, though in ractice there may !e only /7< of fi!re. )he rinci le e(am les of this category include laminates made with cho mats, dough moulding com ounds and glass fi!re reinforced thermo lastics. )he second category are those com osites in which the fi!res are arranged orthogonally, generally in the lane of the laminate, !y !eing woven into glass cloth or woven rovings. Because of the more orderly arrangement of the fi!res the ma(imum ercentage of glass can range !etween 67#=9< !y weight. "n the third category of com osites the fi!res are all laid in one direction. )his is the case with rods roduced !y ultrusion and certain laminates !ased on filament ercentage of fi!res is winding. Since the fi!res are all laid in one direction, the theory. "n ractice however it ranges from =7#:7< !y weight. ed strand

ma(imum com ared to the a!ove two categories and is as high as :7.=;< !y volume in

Unidirectional U&i "i ' Te&(i'e (!re&)!* Arthogonal &andom Per+e&! )e ,- G' (( b. Wei)*! )ensile Strength v8s 3lass -ontent !y Weight %.1 STRESS STRAIN CHARACTERISTICS Since 'olymer Matri( -om osites com!ine a resin system and reinforcing fi!res the ro erties of the resulting com osite material will com!ine something of the ro erties of the resin on its own with that of the fi!res on their own.

Averall, the ro erties of the com osite are determined !y* /, )he ro erties of the fi!re 0, )he ro erties of the resin 2, )he ratio of fi!re to resin in the com osite +%i!re 1olume %raction, 6, )he geometry and orientation of the fi!res in the com osite. %.2 STRENGTH AND FACTORS INFLUENCING IT )he amount of energy which glass reinforced lastics can a!sor! !efore they !rea$ is a function not only of the ma(imum stress !ut also of the strain u to failure. "n fact, it is ro ortional to the roduct of the stress and strain i.e. to the area under the curve in the stress @strain curve. When e(amined it is a arent that glass reinforced lastics fails without much elongation ma$ing it a !rittle material. "n ractice it has !een o!served that its strength is sensitive to the resence of notches and other local stress raisers. 4nvironmental conditions such as tem erature too have a !earing on its erformance. "ncrease in tem erature decreases the stiffness and strength of glass reinforced lastics com osites until a limit of mechanical erformance is reached in the range of 077#277- with commonly used thermosetting resins. An the other hand, o erating tem eratures !elow normal tend to !e advantageous to glass reinforced lastics

which do not !ecome as !rittle as other materials at low tem eratures. )his ma$es them attractive for cryogenic a lications. )he a!ove#mentioned mechanical ro erties of glass#reinforced lastics relate to their !ehaviour under tensile loads. However, many of them are eBually a lica!le to the !ehaviour under com ressive or shear loads. )here are however some im ortant differences. "n articular, under com ressive loading a lied arallel to the direction of the fi!res, the latter tend to !ecome unsta!le and !uc$le li$e long slender struts ma$ing them less effective under com ression than under tension. )he high glass content com osites are also relatively less effective under shear !ecause the resistance to shear !etween the fi!re layers de ends redominantly on the lastic matri(. / APPLICATIONS OF FRP IN CIVIL ENGINEERING %&' have !een used in many civil engineering a lications, such as !ridges, !uildings, off shore structures and retaining walls in .a an, 4uro e, -anada and USA. )he following descri!es some selected com leted, in rogress and future a lications to highlight the otential use of these materials. /.1 SHORT SPAN BRIDGES Many edestrian !ridges have !een constructed using %&' .)he s an of these !ridges vary from ; to /7 mtrs. %i!re reinforced lastic tendons have also !een used as reinforcement and to restress concrete !ridges to enhance the dura!ility for severe environmental conditions. "n addition to the high strength and good fatigue ro erties, the low youngFs modulus of %&' tendons could also !e an advantage to reduce the restressing losses. )hese characteristics greatly enhance the use of %&' as restressing tendons for short s an !ridges.

/.2 LONG SPAN BRIDGES

As a result of the su erior advantage of high @strength @to weight ratio of %&' com ared to conventional materials, %&' rovide uniBue alternative to steel and concrete materials to construct long s an !ridges, which can not !e !uilt !y conventional materials. %&' structural sections can !e used effectively in com!ination with %&' ca!les 5

in roducing uniBue !ridge girder configurations to !uild very long !ridges. -om arative studies were underta$en to e(amine the feasi!ility of constructing !ridges using steel, glass fi!re reinforced lastics +3%&', and car!on fi!re reinforced +-%&', lastics, for ca!le @stayed !ridges and classical sus ension ty es. )he study concluded that the most feasi!le design would !e a ca!le#stayed !ridge using -%&'. )he s ecific design loads versus the canter s ans for the classical form of sus ension !ridges made of steel are com ared with those made of 3%&' or -%&'. )he com arison shows the use of advanced com osites would allow dou!ling or tri ling of the limiting s an in com arison to steel structures. /.3 COMPOSITE BRIDGE DEC0S %&' com osite !ridge dec$s are made of ultruded com onents that are !onded and interloc$ed. )hey are laced transversely to the traffic and are su he(agons that orted !y longitudinal !eams. )he %&' dec$s com rise of dou!le tra eGoid com osite connected with full de th rovide mechanical interloc$ and an e(tensive !onding surface. -onstruction of highway !ridges with modular %&' dec$s reBuires the understanding of the dec$ erformance under traffic loads. )raffic loads include re etitive stress cycles on !ridge dec$s during the service life of the structure. )he com osite !ridge dec$s are modular in design and can !e roduced and can !e roduced in continuous lengths !ecause of inherent rocess ado ted + ultrusion techniBue, and these lengths can !e cut to siGe de ending on the users reBuirement. Hence, it furnishes greater fle(i!ility in fa!rication of the com osite !ridge dec$s to suit various roduct dimensions.

'ultruted %&' Sections

)he first ever#recorded com osite !ridge is the 3indHi Bridge in Bulgaria, which was constructed in /:50 using the hand lay u techniBue. Aver the last 9 years several !ridges have !een constructed, !oth edestrian and highway, such as the A!erfeldy %oot Bridge in Scotland, the Bonds Mill Eift Bridge in 4ngland, the ?olding Bridge in Denmar$, etc. "n most of these cases, the referred method of construction is dec$ su orted !y !eams. -om osite !ridge dec$s are !eing used for !oth ermanent !ridges for

state8national highways and over culverts in USA. )he com osite !ridge dec$s installed in USA were designed and tested !y American Association of State Highway and )rans ort Afficials +AASH)A,. )he following data gives the some of the com osite !ridge dec$s installed in USA. 9/.0 m ( /6.= m %&' dec$s on W 2=(5/ steel girder installed at Salem Avenue, Montgomery -ountry, Ahio in >ovem!er /::: =./ m ( 6.: m %&' dec$s on %&' wide flange !eams installed at Eaurel Eic$ !ridge, Eewis country, West 1irginia in May /::; :./6 m ( =.= m %&' dec$s installed at Wic$wire run !ridge, )aylor -ounty, West 1irginia in Se tem!er /::; ;.20 m ( 2.;6 m %&' dec$s installed at Shawnee -ree$ !ridge, Ienia, Ahio in Acto!er /::; 5.== m ( /7.76 m %&' dec$s installed at Eaurel run road, Somerset -ounty, 'ennsylvania in Acto!er /::5

/.# TUNNEL LINING

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%&' grids could !e e(tremely effective as reinforcement for tunnel lining using shortcrete techniBue to form the s$in surface. "t has advantages over steel due to its high corrosion @resistance and fle(i!ility, which is convenient for, curved surfaces, in addition to their e(cellent al$ali, acid and chemical resisting ro erties. )he material is very lightweight, having a ro(imately one fourth the s ecific gravity of steel, and may !e cut easily cut with a hac$saw.

/.$ MARINE STRUCTURES

%i!reglass !oats, fi!reglass retensioned iles hard#core marine fender etc are the common a lications in the field of marine structures. )he hard core marine fender is com osed of arts that are heavy#duty wear#resistant ru!!er and ultra high molecular weight olythene face, which is thermo lastically !onded to the truss anel to resist a!rasion.

/.% REPAIR OF STRUCTURES

A num!er of chimneys, columns, sla!s and girders have !een re aired and strengthened with -%&' roducts due to earthBua$e damage and8or structural needs to increase their ca acity. Many roducts are currently availa!le for this ty e of retrofitting. )he roducts are often unidirectional and roduced in the form of fi!re ta es, fi!re winding strands and fa!rics. )he materials are effective for !oth fle(ural and shear strengthening of structures. A retrofit rocess of a structure, such as chimney, !egins with re aration of the concrete surface, trowelling the surface with mortar or e o(y, followed !y lacement of the auto# adhesive ta es in the longitudinal direction and confining of the outer surface in the circumferential direction !y winding small diameter car!on ca!les. )o facilitate the ca!le winding o eration, an automatic winding machine is currently availa!le. )o satisfy the fire resistance reBuirements, a fire resistant material, such as cement mortar, normally covers the surface. Strengthening deteriorated steel and concrete !ridges !y !onding car!on fi!re reinforced e o(y laminates to the e(terior of the structure has !een studied. )he study has

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shown that the use of -%&' laminates in lace of steel lates for such a lications could reduce the total cost !y a!out 07<. Although more e( ensive, %&' materials are lightweight and have !etter corrosion resistant ro erties that could result in significant reduction in overall long#term costs. /.1 SPECIAL APPLICATIONS )he non#magnetic neutrality of %&' ma$es it an attractive material to !e used in some s ecial a lications. %or e(am le* fi!re glass ca!les were used in the reha!ilitation of the Marine dF"vry su!way station in 'aris, where the non @magnetic nature of these ca!les layed an im ortant role in the selection of this ty e of ca!les instead of high stress steel ca!les.

1. MATERIALS AND DURABILIT2

Although com osites are often touted as having very good resistance to environmental e( osure, it must !e stressed that this is highly de endent on the ty es of fi!re, fi!re siGing and resin used. )he ina ro riate selection can result in remature failure. Most resins a!sor! moisture to a certain degree causing an increase in weight. However, rovided that the moisture does not react at the interfacial level the effects are reversi!le after drying. "n cases where it is $nown that the com osite will !e e( osed to significant moisture levels, it is recognised that the use of resin rich layers and gel coats can !e advantageous. Similarly it is e( ected that for inertness in such an environment. )his underlines the need for the definition of ro er safety factors and stress levels as well as the recognition of fi!re @ material com!inations. )he use of techniBues associated with the e(ternal attachment of the com osite lates to the soffit of dec$s and then underside of !eams is attractive due to factors related to the ease of access and decreased need for e(tensive changes to the e(isting structures. Although the !onding of steel lates has !een used for Buite some time it has rimary structure !earing significant loads the main reinforcing fi!re will !e gra hite rather than glass, due to its

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!een lagued !y various ro!lems ranging in difficulty in lacement to concerns related to overall dura!ility. -om osite lates do not suffer from these deficiencies, due to the high stiffness and strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance and lightweight. However, an as ect that needs to !e $e t in mind during the design of such schemes is that related to long# term environmental dura!ility of the com osite and the dura!ility and effectiveness of the adhesive !ond !etween the concrete and com osites. %ailure due to material as ects of the assem!ly can generally !e associated with one or a com!ination of the following modes /. 'eel failure into concrete. 0. "nterfacial failure !etween concrete and adhesive. 2. -ohesive failure in the adhesive. 6. "nterfacial crac$ !etween the adhesive and concrete. 9. Alternating crac$ ath !etween the two interfaces. )he first mode of failure occurs due to high eel stresses caused !y mismatch and concentration of shear stresses at the end of com osite lates. Also it should !e remem!ered that the !ond !etween the concrete is through an adhesive or the actual resin itself and therefore one needs to ay attention to as ects such as moisture intrusion, freeGe#thaw etc.

3 SUMMAR2
-om osites have immense otential for use in civil infrastructure in a lications ranging from reha!ilitation to new construction. However for these a lications to !e successful in terms of economics and longevity ro er attention needs to !e aid to the selection of materials and the rocesses used to fa!ricate and lace these com osites in the field. 4rrors in this regard through the ina ro riate use of a material system or manufacturing techniBue should not !e considered as flaws on the art of the technology, !ut rather on the designerFs art. -om osites resent immense o design o ortunities. ortunities for tailoring and for the integration of form and function, resenting the civil engineer a lethora of

REFERENCES4
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-ahn &.W. and Harris.B.J/:;7K, L>atures of com ositesM @3lass reinforced lastics @ Brian 'ar$yn, Butterworth 'u!lications,4ngland. -arles W.Dolan , /:::,M%&' 'restressing in the USAM,-oncrete "nternational 1ol.0/,>o ./7, .0/#06 >orman &.H., Stom M.H. and W.-. Wa$e,J/:;7K,L&esin 3lass "nterfaceM# 3lass reinforced lastics @ Brian 'ar$yn. , Butterworth 'u!lications,4ngland. Sami H. &iG$alla JDec /5#07,/::9K, L%&' for the 0/ st -enturyM# "nternational -onference on %i!re &einforced Structural 'lastics in -ivil 4ngineering, "") Madras Balaguru, 'erumal Swamy. >, -hang and 'eter, L High Strength -om osites %or &e air &eha!ilitation and Strengthening of concrete Structures +"-" .ournal * .an# Mar 0772, Balaguru and Shah, )e(t !oon on L%i!re &einforced -ement -om ositesM. American Society %or Metals, Source !oo$ on L&einforced 'lastics %or -ommercial -om ositesM

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