Theses and Dissertations (Civil Engineering)

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations (Civil Engineering) by Author "Masu, L. M."

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    Investigation of the performance of fibre reinforced polymer re-bars in structural foundations
    (2012-11-01) Labana, Beltran; Wanjala, Salim; Ndambuki, J. M.; Masu, L. M.
    This research focused on the structural performance of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) re-bars in structural foundation compared to steel reinforcement re-bars. The corrosion of steel re-bars is the main reason of deterioration of reinforced concrete. However, use of FRP re-bars as alternative reinforcement will address the deterioration of reinforced concrete. Carbon and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer re-bars were used as reinforcing bars and traditional steel reinforced concrete was used as the reference. Thirty six specimens of reinforced concrete bases were tested for flexural capacity at different ages. The simulation of Soil Bearing Pressure of this study was derived from the model of beam finite length on elastic foundation. The foundation base was treated as a beam while the soil was modelled as series of timber elements acting as springs. The mathematical model to reflect the model was as documented by Timoshenko (1976:18) and Den Hartog (1952:160). Results showed that stress in the steel re-bars of reinforced concrete was higher than that of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) re-bars by 227 MPa (5.99 percent) and 284 MPa (7.61 percent), respectively. The stress in CFRP re-bars was 57 MPa or 1.53 percent higher compared to GFRP re-bars of FRP reinforced concrete. Furthermore, the experimental ultimate moments of CFRP and GFRP reinforced concrete foundation – bases on the 28th day were 23.917 kNm (79.0 percent) and 23.529 kNm (77.7 percent) higher than the theoretical ultimate moments, respectively. However, steel reinforced concrete foundation – bases had the higher calculated deflection than FRP reinforced concrete. With high resistance to corrosion as a property, FRP re-bars appeared to be a better alternative reinforcement to steel in corrosion in an aggressive environment.