11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors

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FRPEngineering& Themechanicalpropertiesandbehaviorsoffiberreinforcedpolymers(FRP), QuickContacts

Software includingcompositeswitharamid(AFRP),basalt(BFRP),carbon(CFRP),and
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FRPproSoftware glass(GFRP)fibers,versussteelreinforcingshouldbeunderstoodpriorto Telephone:
undertakingthedesignofstructuresusingthesereinforcements. (888) 418-2695
FRPReinforcement
FRPDesign FRPsystemsareanincreasinglyacceptablealternativetosteel Email:
reinforcementforreinforcedconcretestructuresincludingcastinplaceand Go to the Contact Form
to email directly.
CivilEngineering preandposttensionedbridges,precastconcretepipes,columns,beams
Specialties
andothercomponents.

LandDevelopment FRPadvantagesoversteelreinforcementincludingresiliencetocorrosion
WastewaterDesign islistedonthepreviouspage.MasonrystructuresalsobenefitwithFRP
reinforcement.Theiruseasoriginalreinforcementandforstrengthening
ProjectManagement
structuresisbeingspecifiedmoreandmorebystructuralengineersinthe
publicandprivateindustries.
AboutUs

ProjectPortfolio
HowWeWork
GlassFiberReinforcedPolymer(GFRP)
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SiteMap FRPsusingglassfibersarethepredominantreinforcingfiberinallFRPs.
Eglassisthemostcommonlyusedfiber.Ithashighelectricalinsulating
FileDownloads properties,goodheatresistance,andhasthelowestcost.SGlassfibers
BidOpportunities havehigherheatresistanceandaboutonethirdhighertensilestrength
thanEglass.ThespecialtyARglassfibersareresistanttothealkaline
environmentfoundinconcretebuthavemuchhighercost.

BasaltFiberReinforcedPolymer(BFRP)

BasaltfibershavehighertensilestrengththanEglassfibersbutlowerthanSglass,
however,itscostisnearthecostofEglass.IthasmuchbetterresistancethanE
andSglasstothealkaliesinconcrete.

AramidFiberReinforcedPolymer(AFRP)

Aramidfibers(alsoknownasaromaticpolyamidefibers)havehighstrength,a
highelasticmodulus,and40%lowerdensitythanglassfibers.Thecostof
aramidfibersishigherthanglassandbasaltfibersmakingthemlesscommon
instructuralapplications.Inaddition,aramidfiberswillabsorbmoistureso
carefulstorageandplanningofaprojectusingaramidfibersiscriticaluntilthe
fibershavebeenimpregnatedwithapolymermatrix.

CarbonFiberReinforcedPolymer(CFRP)

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11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors
Carbonfibershaveaveryhightensilestrengthandelasticmodulus.The
elasticmodulusofhighmoduluscarbonfiberissimilartosteel.CFRusing
highandultrahighmoduluscarbonfibersarepopularintheaerospace
industrybecauseitsstrengthtoweightratioisamongthehighestofall
FRPs.Highstrength,normalmodulusfibersareusedwithCFRPsinthe
infrastructureindustry.

FRPDesignProperties
Theprimaryphysicalpropertiesconsideredfordesignare:(AmericanConcrete
Institute(ACI)nomenclatureshown)

Ultimatetensilestrength,ffu*
TensileModulusofElasticity,Ef
UltimateRuptureStrain,orElongationatBreak,fu*,thestrainofamaterialatthe
Share pointofrupture.

Fiberreinforcedpolymersexhibitlinearelasticbehaviortherefore,theseproperties
areinterrelatedasdefinedbyHookeslaw.

Reinforcing Yield Strength Tensile Strength Elastic Modulus Strain at Break

Material ksi (MPa) ksi (MPa) ksi (GPa) percent

40-75 29,000
Steel N/A N/A
(276-517) (200)
Lookingfor
70-230 5,100-7,400 Design
Glass FRP N/A 1.2-3.1 Software?Try
(480-1,600) (35-51)
FRPprofree!
150-240 6,500-8,500
Basalt FRP N/A 1.6-3.0
(1,035-1,650) (45-59)
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250-368 6,000-18,000
Aramid FRP N/A 1.9-4.4
(1,720-2,540) (41-125)

250-585 15,900-84,000
Carbon FRP N/A 0.5-1.9
(1,720-3,690) (120-580)

Note:

1. It is understood that steel has an ultimate tensile strength, however, it is not used in
design.
2. The values given for the various FRPs are based on a typical ber volume fraction of
0.5 to 0.7.
3. ACI 440.6-08 species that glass ber and carbon ber based reinforcing bars have a
tensile elastic modulus of at least 5,700 ksi (39.3 GPa) and 18,000 ksi (124 GPA),
respectively.

ComparisonofFRPTensileandSteelYieldStrengths

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11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors

Share CreepRuptureStressLimit

An important factor when choosing the type of reinforced composite for a structural
application is understanding the limits of a ber to resist long term loading.
Continuous and cyclic loading on a ber reinforced polymer in excess of its ability to
resist those loads may induce long-term deection, fatigue failure, or creep-rupture
in the structural component. To eliminate the deections caused by creep, the
stresses in FRP reinforcement in structural members must be less than the creep-
rupture stress limit.

ACI and other design codes recommend a reduction factor applied to the ultimate
tensile strength of the FRP to avoid creep-rupture and fatigue related failures. The
reduction factors found in the ACI codes for glass, aramid and carbon FRPs are
shown below. A reduction factor for basalt FRP is also shown based on the research
of Dr. Anil K. Patnaik at the University of Akron.

CreepRuptureReductionFactors

GFRP BFRP AFRP CFRP

Creep-Rupture
0.20 0.20 0.30 0.55
Stress Limit, Ff,s

The creep-rupture reduction factors have a signicant impact on the useable

strength of the FRP system. The graph below shows the tensile strength range of the
various FRPs multiplied by the appropriate creep-reduction factors along with the
standard stress limit of 80 percent of steel yield strength.

FactoredFRPTensileStrengths

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11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors
As can be easily seen above, carbon FRPs have a much greater useable strength after
the application of the reduction factor. Greater useable strength equals a reduced
amount of FRP for a given application which can oset increased material and labor
costs.

Other design factors are needed to successfully design FRP reinforced structures.
These will be discussed in later pages.

ReferencesUsedonThisPage
1. MoldedFiberGlassCompanies,DesigningwithFiberReinforcedPlastics/
Composites,TechniquesandTechnologiesforCostEffectiveness,2003
2. AmericanConcreteInstitute(ACI)Committee440,440.608"Specificationfor
CarbonandGlassFiberReinforcedPolymerBarMaterialsforConcrete
Reinforcement,"2008
3. PrinceEngineering,PLC,"CharacteristicsandBehaviorsofFiberReinforced
Polymers(FRPs)UsedforReinforcementandStrengtheningofStructures,"2011

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New!Comments

Please Ask Questions! Your Opinion Counts!

11Comments Sortby Newest

Addacomment...

GarethAllen
HiRick,
I'minterestedinfindingoutthetypicalrangeofPoisson'sRatio
forCFRP.Wouldyoubeabletohelpmewiththisordirectme
tosomereleventdocuments/information?
Thanksinadvance!
LikeReplyApr4,20165:31pm

SuhailMujavar
Sr.MechanicalDesignEngineeratTechnosoftEngineering
HiIamlookingforthebelowmechanicalpropertiesofGFRP.
Kindlyhelp

modulusofelasticity(N/m)
Poisson'sratio
modulusofrigidity(N/m)
massdensity(kg/m)
tensilestrength(N/m)
compressionstrength(N/m)
liquidlimit(N/m)
thermalexpansioncoefficient... SeeMore
LikeReply 1Mar10,20164:39pm

RickPrince
Principal/OwneratPrinceEngineering,PLC
GFRPpropertiesvarybetweenmanufacturers.thebest
waytogetthespecificpropertiesyourequireisto
downloadaproductdatasheetfromamanufacturer
andcontactthemdirectlywheretheirdatasheetsare
notcompleteforyourneeds.
LikeReply 1Mar25,201611:17pm
http://www.buildonprince.com/fiberreinforcedpolymers.html#sthash.QGPgM4bk.dpbs 4/6
11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors
LikeReply 1Mar25,201611:17pm

SuhailMujavar
Sr.MechanicalDesignEngineeratTechnosoftEngineering
RickPrinceThanksRick
LikeReplyMar26,201612:32am

RobSmith
Doyouhaveinformationoncompressiveandshearstrengths
ofGFRP?
LikeReplyMar8,201611:00pm

RickPrince
Principal/OwneratPrinceEngineering,PLC
AccordingtotheAmericanConcreteInstitute(ACI),
compressivestrengthofGFRPisabout55percentof
thetensilestrengthandshearstrengthis"relatively
weak"andisgovernedbythepolymermatrix.fib

Share
bulletin40reportedsimilarvaluesbasedonthesame
research
LikeReplyMar25,201611:44pm

AmitKumar
NITDurgapur
iwanttoknowthedensityofGFRP..pleasehelpme.
LikeReplyMar1,20161:31pm

RickPrince
Principal/OwneratPrinceEngineering,PLC
GFRPgenerallyhasadensityrangingfrom1.2to2.10
g/cm^3.Thevariationisduetodifferencesinfiber
volumefractionandthetypeofresinsusedto
impregnatethefibers.
LikeReplyMar2,201612:06am

AdityaKhubele
LokmanyaTilakCollegeofEngineering,Koparkhairne
WeneedtomanufcatureFRPproducts(450gsm2layersand
360GSMWovenRoving1Layerarrangedalternatelyinorder
toachieve3mmoverallthickness).Pleasesuggesthowcanwe
achieveatensilestrengthof100N/mm2,withGlassratioofmin
35%byweight,whatkindofFibreandResinsystemweshould
adopt.
LikeReplySep22,20156:58pm

SreeRanjani
DraftsWomananCADOperatoratWorkedasadraftswomenandCAD
operatorinPrasadAssociatein1999
CanigetthesepolymersinIndiaformyresearchwork
LikeReplyAug27,201512:58am

RickPrince
Principal/OwneratPrinceEngineering,PLC
We'renotdistributorsofFRPs,onlyconsultants.Tryto
lookupmanufacturersforresearchprojects.
LikeReplyAug27,20152:16am

MahdiDaryadel
TheUniversityofManchester
Also,IwouldliketoknowabouttensilestressofGFRPin
transversedirection,plzshareifyouknowanyreliablesource.
LikeReplyJul10,20159:04pm

RickPrince
Principal/OwneratPrinceEngineering,PLC
Tensilestress,shearandelasticmodulusinthe
transversedirectionwilldependonthefibersusedand
thetypeofweaveintheGRFP.Theonlywaytoknow
thesevaluesistolookupthemanufacturer'sproduct
datasheets.Here'sanexampleatOwensCorning:
http://www.buildonprince.com/fiberreinforcedpolymers.html#sthash.QGPgM4bk.dpbs 5/6
11/8/2016 FiberReinforcedPolymersCharacteristicsandBehaviors
datasheets.Here'sanexampleatOwensCorning:
http://www.ocvtechnicalfabrics.com/
LikeReply 1Aug6,20159:35pm

MahdiDaryadel
TheUniversityofManchester
Hi,douhaveanydetailsaboutshearmodulusandelastic
modulusintransversedirectionofGFRP?
LikeReplyJul10,20159:02pm

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