Development of thin FRP reinforced GFRC permanent formwork systems

The use of GFRC (glass fibre reinforced concrete) permanent formwork is currently limited to relatively short spans due to the material’s modest flexural capacity. These limitations can be overcome by reinforcing GFRC with rod reinforcement. To avoid durability problems FRP (fiber reinforced polymer) reinforcement has been used by the authors to develop thin GFRC permanent formwork capable of spanning up to 3 m. Although there is abundant research information on the use of FRP in ordinary concrete, the composite performance of FRP reinforced GFRC needs special investigation. To demonstrate the concept, this paper presents the results of experiments on the behaviour of GFRC panels containing FRP reinforcement. It also confirms that the flexural behaviour of FRP reinforced GFRC can be predicted by using section analysis.