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Synopsis Plastics reinforced with continuous glass fibres have outstanding tensile strength in the fibre direction and excellent corrosion resistance, but are characterized by low modulus and low compressive strength. It is proposed to develop composite members in which a prefabricated FRP (fibreglass-reinforced-plastic) casing is used initially as the form to cast plain concrete, and thereafter to confine the concrete, act as tensile reinforcement and provide corrosion protection. Significant cost savings are possible with the proposed combination of materials, especially in exposed structures, such as bridges. An experimental investigation of FRP-encased concrete cylinders in axial compression and of rectangular FRP-encased beams in bending is presented. The results demonstrate the excellent strength and ductility characteristics of FRP-encased members. The behaviour of circular FRP-encased concrete beam-columns is described also, in terms of analytically obtained moment-axial-load and ductility-axial-load interaction diagrams and moment-curvature relations. The weathering characteristics and the fire resistance of the FRP are discussed, and measures to improve these environmental properties are reviewed.
Fardis et al. (Wed,) studied this question.