Advances in Durability Performance and Service-life Prediction of Innovative Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Bars

混凝土基础设施中钢筋的锈蚀是一个主要的耐久性问题，会导致结构退化，从而导致昂贵的维修费用和可用性的丧失。根据《2012年加拿大基础设施报告卡》，相当数量的加拿大市政基础设施的排名介于“一般”和“非常差”之间(平均约为35%)。仅在全国范围内替换这些资产就将总计1718亿美元。一种受到全球关注的相对较新的解决方案是纤维增强聚合物(FRP)钢筋，它是传统钢筋的一种经济高效的替代方案。由于其耐腐蚀性、轻质和高强度，FRP筋在过去20年里一直在加拿大用于基础设施，如桥面、停车场和连续人行道。缺乏有关长期耐久性的适当数据是更广泛地接受和大规模实施FRP筋的主要障碍。*这项发现补助金(DG)除了延长开发和验证具有更高耐久性和高性价比的新一代FRP筋的性能所需的长期实验室和现场实验外，还包括新的创新研究。这项拟议的工作将调查新的先进材料和FRP产品的长期性能，了解和模拟FRP筋的退化机理，并验证从成分、复合材料和FRP筋混凝土构件的角度长期预测FRP筋性能的严格方法。这样做的目的是为了利用基本的科学发现来改善FRP筋的耐久性性能，并设计FRP筋加固的经济混凝土结构。将采用综合方法研究各种物理/环境/负载/协同参数对长期性能的影响。这项发现资助将推动有关玻璃钢棒、新型玻璃纤维、新型玄武岩纤维、低渗透性树脂系统以及纳米复合材料等新材料的知识界限。这项拟议的工作具有变革性，因为它将导致新的FRP筋具有更高的耐久性和物理/机械性能，产生准确的性能预测模型，并开发基于耐久性的规范规范。这将使加拿大和国际设计顾问和监管机构、业主和建筑业受益，他们都将能够对这些结构材料寄予更大的信心。此外，作为加拿大在基础设施应用中开发和成功使用FRP-bar技术的领先者，这项研究将保持/加强加拿大在该行业的领先地位。拟议的研究将通过培训8名博士生和2名硕士研究生来实施。**

Corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete infrastructure is a major durability problem, leading to structural degradation and consequent costly repairs and loss of serviceability. According to the 2012 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, a significant amount of Canadian municipal infrastructure ranks between "fair" and "very poor" (about 35%, on average). Replacing these assets nationally would alone total $171.8 billion. A relatively recent solution receiving global attention is fibre-reinforced-polymer (FRP) reinforcing bars as a cost-effective alternative to conventional steel bars. Given their corrosion resistance, light weight, and high strength, FRP bars have been used in Canada for the last 20 years for infrastructure such bridge decks, parking garages, and continuous pavements. The lack of appropriate data about the long-term durability poses a major obstacle to broader acceptance and mass implementation of FRP bars.***This Discovery Grant (DG) includes new, innovative research, in addition to extending the long-term laboratory and field experiments needed to develop and validate the performance of new generations of FRP bars with enhanced durability properties and high performance / cost ratios. The proposed work will investigate the long-term performance of new advanced materials and FRP products, yield understanding and modeling FRP-bar degradation mechanisms, and validate rigorous methods of predicting FRP-bar performance in terms of constituents, composites, and FRP-reinforced concrete members over a long period of time. This would be done with a view to using fundamental scientific findings to improve the durability performance of FRP bars and the design of economic concrete structures reinforced with FRP bars. Comprehensive methods will be employed to examine the impact of various physical/environmental/load/synergetic parameters on long-term performance. This Discovery Grant will push back the boundaries of knowledge about FRP bars incorporating a new class of glass fibres, new basalt fibres, resin systems with low permeability, and new materials such as nanocomposites. The proposed work is transformative because it will lead to new FRP bars with greater durability and physical/mechanical properties, to accurate performance predictive models, and to development of durability-based code specifications. This will benefit Canadian and international design consultants and regulators, owners, and the construction industry, all of whom will be able to place greater confidence in these structural materials. In addition, as Canada's leader in developing and successfully using FRP-bar technology in infrastructure applications, this research will maintain/enhance Canada's leadership in this industry. The proposed research will be implemented through the training of 8 doctoral and 2 master's students.**