Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction

The objective of this study was to compare the impact of two commonly used high-performance concretes (HPC) on the durability of GFRP bars. A total of 279 GFRP specimens were manufactured and subjected to micro morphological analysis and mechanical property testing. The residual tensile strength of...

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Main Authors: Yuan Yue, Wen-Wei Wang, Lei Zhang, Liang Liang, Qiang Zhao, Yuzhou Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Case Studies in Construction Materials
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525002426
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author Yuan Yue
Wen-Wei Wang
Lei Zhang
Liang Liang
Qiang Zhao
Yuzhou Zheng
author_facet Yuan Yue
Wen-Wei Wang
Lei Zhang
Liang Liang
Qiang Zhao
Yuzhou Zheng
author_sort Yuan Yue
collection DOAJ
description The objective of this study was to compare the impact of two commonly used high-performance concretes (HPC) on the durability of GFRP bars. A total of 279 GFRP specimens were manufactured and subjected to micro morphological analysis and mechanical property testing. The residual tensile strength of 270 specimens was assessed after 120 days of immersion. Concurrently, 9 specimens were chosen for microscopic to explore the degradation mechanism of GFRP bars. The experimental findings indicate that HPC can create more favorable environmental conditions for GFRP compared to normal concrete. After 120 days of exposure, slight color changes, minor alterations in microscopic images, and higher tensile strength retention were observed in the HPC environment. Furthermore, when combined with pH test results, it was discovered that HPC exhibits lower pore solution pH or compactness of porosity than normal concrete, which significantly reduces the penetration of corrosive substances and contributes to maintaining the durability of GFRP. Additionally, ECC surpasses UHPC in terms of durability protection, as the residual tensile strength (RS) of GFRP bars in ECC reaches 68.99 %, slightly higher than UHPC (66.32 %). A computational method is also proposed to address the incompatibility between multiple fitting and accelerated transformation in traditional prediction theory. This new method is implemented as a Matlab-based iterative algorithm grounded on the Arrhenius relationship, enabling automatic calculation and identification of solutions that satisfy multiple degradation-related conditions. It greatly reducing manual calculation burden while providing a practical tool for researchers to analyze accelerated material degradation.
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spelling doaj-art-7d4f84cbf5e543fbacb9524c32b12b9b2025-08-20T03:02:06ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952025-07-0122e0444410.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04444Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength predictionYuan Yue0Wen-Wei Wang1Lei Zhang2Liang Liang3Qiang Zhao4Yuzhou Zheng5School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China; Intelligent Transportation System Research Center, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, ChinaSchool of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China; Corresponding authors.Intelligent Transportation System Research Center, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China; Corresponding authors.Jiangsu Hengde New Materials Co., Ltd, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211500, ChinaJiangsu Hengde New Materials Co., Ltd, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211500, ChinaEngineering Research Center of Safety and Protection of Explosion & Impact of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China; College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, ChinaThe objective of this study was to compare the impact of two commonly used high-performance concretes (HPC) on the durability of GFRP bars. A total of 279 GFRP specimens were manufactured and subjected to micro morphological analysis and mechanical property testing. The residual tensile strength of 270 specimens was assessed after 120 days of immersion. Concurrently, 9 specimens were chosen for microscopic to explore the degradation mechanism of GFRP bars. The experimental findings indicate that HPC can create more favorable environmental conditions for GFRP compared to normal concrete. After 120 days of exposure, slight color changes, minor alterations in microscopic images, and higher tensile strength retention were observed in the HPC environment. Furthermore, when combined with pH test results, it was discovered that HPC exhibits lower pore solution pH or compactness of porosity than normal concrete, which significantly reduces the penetration of corrosive substances and contributes to maintaining the durability of GFRP. Additionally, ECC surpasses UHPC in terms of durability protection, as the residual tensile strength (RS) of GFRP bars in ECC reaches 68.99 %, slightly higher than UHPC (66.32 %). A computational method is also proposed to address the incompatibility between multiple fitting and accelerated transformation in traditional prediction theory. This new method is implemented as a Matlab-based iterative algorithm grounded on the Arrhenius relationship, enabling automatic calculation and identification of solutions that satisfy multiple degradation-related conditions. It greatly reducing manual calculation burden while providing a practical tool for researchers to analyze accelerated material degradation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525002426GFRP barsHigh-performance concreteDegradationPredictionResidual tensile strength
spellingShingle Yuan Yue
Wen-Wei Wang
Lei Zhang
Liang Liang
Qiang Zhao
Yuzhou Zheng
Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
Case Studies in Construction Materials
GFRP bars
High-performance concrete
Degradation
Prediction
Residual tensile strength
title Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
title_full Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
title_fullStr Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
title_full_unstemmed Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
title_short Protection of high-performance concrete on the durability of GFRP bars: Deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
title_sort protection of high performance concrete on the durability of gfrp bars deterioration mechanism and tensile strength prediction
topic GFRP bars
High-performance concrete
Degradation
Prediction
Residual tensile strength
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525002426
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AT qiangzhao protectionofhighperformanceconcreteonthedurabilityofgfrpbarsdeteriorationmechanismandtensilestrengthprediction
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