About the author  ⁄ Shawn P. Gross, Ph.D.

Shawn P. Gross, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Villanova University. He may be reached at shawn.gross@villanova.edu.

Cast-in-place (CIP) concrete bridge decks are typically reinforced with steel. However, poor durability resulting from steel corrosion has resulted in the use of alternative noncorrosive reinforcement materials. As part of this effort, glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) reinforcement bars have been used as structural reinforcement for CIP concrete bridge decks. GFRP is a noncorrosive composite material made of glass reinforcing fibers and a vinyl ester resin matrix. In axial tension, GFRP is elastic with brittle rupture at ultimate. Relative to grade 60 steel reinforcement, GFRP tensile strength is about 150%, the elastic modulus is about 20%, and the unit weight is about 25%. Thus, given the material’s high strength and low stiffness, serviceability of GFRP reinforced bridge decks will be an important consideration in design.

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