Long-Term Properties and Transfer Length of Fiber-Reinforced Polymers

This paper discusses the experimental results on properties and transfer length of the common types of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tendons. Based on the experimental results, an equation is proposed for predicting the creep coefficient of aramid-based FRP (AFRP) tendons. The results show that the creep of carbon-based FRP (CFRP) is less than 0.2%. The test results show that the transfer length of CFRP is in the range of 300–800 mm and the concrete strength at transfer is one of the major factors affecting the transfer length of CFRP. A new factor accounting for the concrete strength is proposed for estimating the transfer length of CFRP tendons, and the verification is made for this equation. The transfer length was found to vary from 170 to 270 mm, which was 20–30 times the tendon diameter for these AFRP tendons. Despite the creep and shrinkage of concrete and the relaxation of the tendon itself, the range for transfer length did not vary with time.