Degradation of basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bars in seawater and sea sand concrete environment

Abstract

Although numerous experimental and analytical investigations on the environmental effects on basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bars were carried out, degradation of the basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bar in seawater and sea sand concrete environment has been insufficiently analyzed. This work presents two distinct numerical approaches, degradation rate–based approach and diffusion-based approach, to investigate the durability of basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bars in seawater and sea sand concrete solution subjected to various temperatures (32°C, 40°C, 48°C, and 55°C). The degradation of the material was quantified using a simplified two-dimensional model of a homogenized basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bar in COMSOL Multiphysics software. Fickian diffusion provides basis for modeling diffusion-based approach. The findings from both the approaches suggested that the basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bar becomes more susceptible to degradation as the exposure temperature increases and results in greater geometrical deformities. The comparisons of experimental data, analytical solutions, and numerical results showcase that the present numerical models can predict the degradation of a basalt fiber–reinforced polymer bar in a seawater and sea sand concrete environment.