World experience of GFRP rebar use

The first experience of fiberglass application dates back to 1956 in the United States. Massachusetts Institute of Technology had been developing a house made of polymer fiberglass materials. It was intended for one of the attractions in the Disneyland park in California. The house served for 10 years until it was replaced by other attraction and demolished.

Interesting fact! Canada tested a seaworthy vessel, made with the use of glass, that served for 60 years. The test results showed that there were no significant degradation in material strength over six decades.

When the metal ball-hammer designed for demolition touched the structure, it just bounced off like a rubber ball. The building had to be demolished manually.

In the following decades, it was decided to use polymer composite materials for concrete structures reinforcement. In different countries (the USSR, Japan, Canada and the USA) they conducted developments and testings of innovative product.

Some examples of polymer composite rebar use of foreign experience:

In Japan, before the mid-90s, there were over a hundred commercial projects. Detailed design and construction recommendations involving composite materials were developed in Tokyo in 1997.
In the 2000s, China had become the largest consumer in Asia, using fiberglass in various fields of construction — from underground work to bridge decks.
In 1998 a winery was built in British Columbia.
GFRP use in Europe began in Germany; it was used for the construction of a road bridge in 1986.
In 1997, the Headingley bridge was built in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
During the construction of the Joffre Bridge in Quebec (Canada) decks of dam, pavement and roadblocks were reinforced. The bridge was opened in 1997, and fiber optic sensors were integrated into the structure of the reinforcement to monitor the deformation remotely.
In the United States it is widely used in the construction of premises for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
It was used in the construction of the world’s largest subways — in Berlin and London, Bangkok, New Delhi and Hong Kong.

Let us consider the world experience of fiberglass rebar use in construction using examples.

Industrial facilities

Niederrhein Gold (Moers, Germany, 2007 – 2009).

Non-metallic reinforcement to prevent cracking. Reinforced area — 1150 m².

The foundation for a steel furnace with of 3.5 meters in diameter.

Buildings of research centers

Center for quantum nanotechnology (Waterloo, Canada), 2008.

Composite fiberglass rebar is used for non-stop operation of devices during the research work.

Max Planck Institute for the study of solids (Stuttgart, Germany), 2010-2011.

Fiberglass rebar is used in the construction of high precision laboratory.

Car parks and train stations

Station (Vienna, Austria), 2009.

In order to avoid the penetration of induction currents from the adjacent subway tunnel, reinforcement of bore piles and walls of the lower floors is steel-free.

Indoor parking at the Forum Steglitz shopping centre (Berlin, Germany), 2006.

The mesh of GFRP rebar of Ø8 mm is used. Reinforcement objectives — corrosion resistance and prevention of cracking. Reinforced area — 6400 m².

Bridge construction

Irvine Creek Bridge (Ontario, Canada), 2007.

Rebar of Ø16 mm is used to prevent cracking.

3rd Concession Bridge (Ontario, Canada), 2008.

Fiberglass rebar is used in the reinforcement of approach slabs and bridge paving connections.

Guard railing on Walker Road (Canada), 2008.

Crash cushion on Essex County Road 43 bridge (Windsor, Ontario), 2009.

Laying of railway bed and tracks

University square (Magdeburg, Germany), 2005.

Transfer railway (the Hague, Netherlands), 2006.

Station square (Bern, Switzerland), 2007.

Tram line 26 (Vienna, Austria), 2009.

Base plate of railway bed (Basel, Switzerland), 2009.

Offshore facilities

Quay (Blackpool, Great Britain), 2007-2008.

Joint use with metal rebar

Royal Villa (Qatar), 2009.

Underground construction

“North” tunnel section (Brenner mountain pass in the Alps), 2006.

DESY Los 3 (Hamburg, Germany), 2009.

Emscherkanal (Bottrop, Germany), 2010.

As you can see, fiberglass rebar is widely used in Europe, Canada and the United States.

You can get familiar with experience of our fiberglass rebar use in the section “Objects” where we show the way our production is used in construction.