Investigation on tension and bonding behaviour of basalt fibre reinforced polymers in concrete structures

For retrofitting of RC structures, the concrete cover of the renewed reinforcement has to be sufficient to ensure the durability. Alternative reinforcement like rebars of basalt fibre reinforced polymers (BFRP) gives the possibility to minimize the concrete cover ensuring durable structures due to their resistance against carbonation and chlorides. In this paper investigations on load-bearing behaviour of BFRP reinforced test specimens as an excerpt from a research project on basalt fibre reinforced concrete as repairing material with shotcrete and also basalt rebars as additional strengthening reinforcement for fair faced concrete facades are presented. The tested BFRP rebars show higher tension strength and lower Young's Modulus as comparable steel reinforcement bars. In centrical tension tests on the BFRP reinforced concrete specimen longitudinal cracking due to high tension in the contact zone and a higher number and also higher widths of crosswise cracking appear. The load bearing behaviour can be confirmed by numerical simulation. The results of the investigation with the incident light microscope on prepared specimen after tension tests show an enhanced number of microcracks in the contact zone between BFRP rebar and cement matrix. In pull out tests always the concrete failed, never the BFRP rebars. The results of this investigation confirm the possibility to ensure durable concrete structures using BFRP reinforcement. Further tests have been carried out on the flexural strength behaviour, the fatigue strength and durability. At the moment BFRP rebars of various designs are tested.