Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) in infrastructure applications

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (hereafter called FRP) is not something invented recently.

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The roots were conceived in late 30s in the USA and there were many demonstrative projects conducted in USA and Europe thereafter. It was the Japanese people who introduced design guidelines for GFRP in 1996 which served as good foundation for many upcoming versions of codes and guidelines. Although it has been used extensively now in applications such as storage tanks, wind turbine blades, boats, pipes, aircraft fuselage, etc, the commercial use of GFRP products in infrastructure projects is still novice in India. The applications mentioned above will see FRPs in various shapes and forms but for infrastructure applications, we will discuss solid round profiles like rebars, bolts, anchors, etc.

The composition

FRP products are made of fibers impregnated with polymeric resins. It’s the fiber which determines the strength of the product and resin binds these fiber elements together, enabling the load transfer from one fiber element to other with the duty of protecting it. There exists various forms of FRPs based on which type of fiber is used, but we will limit our discussions to glass fiber which is used in infrastructure projects.