Tensile characterization of FRP rods for reinforced concrete structures

The application of FRP rods as all internal or external reinforcement in new or damaged concrete structures is based on the development of design equations that take into account the mechanical properties of FRP material systems. The measurement of mechanical characteristics of FRP requires, a special anchoring and protocol, since it is well known that these characteristics depend oil the direction and content of fibers. In this study, all effective tensile test method is described for the mechanical characterization of FRP rods. Twelve types of glass and carbon FRP specimens with different sizes and surface characteristics were tested to validate the procedure proposed. In all, 79 tensile tests were performed, and the results obtained are discussed in this paper. Recommendations are given for specimen preparation and test setup in order to facilitate the further investigation and standardization of the FRP rods, used in civil engineering.