As raw materials, processing and transportation costs continue to increase overhead expenses for projects, project managers are beginning to look at alternatives to replacing traditional materials such as steel, metals, and wood.
Enter the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) profile as an ideal substitute. For example, an FRP rod or rebar has unique characteristics that are suitable for a wide range of applications in various industries such as manufacturing, utilities, auto, telecommunications, and more.
Fiberglass profiles can be designed to be used as structural supports that are capable of providing performance guarantees similar to or better than steel, and can be easily customized. Composite profiles are growing in popularity and are used in place of steel components, manufactured at a lower cost, and can be assembled relatively quickly.
According to analysis & market consultants Arc Industry, the key growth drivers of the FRP rebar include the worldwide demand for non-corrosive profiles and the low cost of FRP rebars across its life cycle. From 2020-2025, the “FRP Rebar Market size is projected to grow to $1.1 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1%."
Pultruded fiberglass rods and rebar are in high demand as a substitute across multiple market segments such as steel rebar in road, building, and bridge/tunnel construction as well as in the utilities market for electric isolation.
In the infrastructure sector according to an investigative article published in Science Direct, “the difference between fiberglass rebar and steel rebar for concrete reinforcement show that initial failure of the steel rebar starts to happen at strain 16.21%. The initial failure of fiberglass-reinforced concrete doesn’t begin until strain 20.23%. This allows extra time for a problem to be identified before complete failure.”
With its many attributes, fiberglass is also becoming a preferred option for residential sector builders and architects.
In the United States and Canada, marine and waterfront applications are increasingly calling for the use of pultruded fiberglass. It is also becoming an in-demand material for infrastructure applications in the Middle East and Europe.
Made up of two components ─ a fiber and a matrix resin ─ FRP rods are electrically and thermally non-conductive, efficiently resists heat transfer and possess greater tensile strength than steel.
The characteristics of the FRP profile can be customized by varying the composition of resin systems and glass content to produce pultruded fiberglass bars with different properties to meet specific requirements. The properties of the resulting profile are determined by the composite matrices. For example, high strength, high-temperature tolerance, flame-retardant, track-resistant, and corrosion-resistant.
During the pultrusion process, pultruded fiberglass rods can also be manufactured in different colors by adding pigments to the resin or produced for outdoor applications by applying a UV-resistant treatment.
In a manufacturing technique called pultrusion, the process allows the rods to be formed into almost any shape and customized to meet the needs of different applications. Common shapes include solid rods, tubes, bars, channels, and tees.
As such, fiberglass rods can be manufactured to meet a wide range of requirements for specific designs and applications. They can be machined, butted, slotted, chamfered, rounded, and pointed easily with simple tools.
In basic terms, pultruded fiberglass rods contain reinforcement fibers and a polymer resin matrix mix: glass provides increased tensile strength with the surrounding fibers providing enhanced resistance to buckling and corrosion as well as increased durability.
Fiberglass rods bond easily with concrete and add advanced thermal compatibility. FRP profiles like rebars are increasingly used in electrical isolation and water treatment plants.
Pultruded fiberglass rods are flexible in shapes, sizes, and properties. They can be used in a wide range of applications in the electrical, utilities, consumer, sporting goods, infrastructure, and telecommunications. For example:
A composite can have its materials individually adjusted depending on the application. Pultruded fiberglass rods are easy to work with as their resin mix is flexible. Their non-reactive nature also makes them longer-lasting and safer than many other materials:
The use of pultruded fiberglass rods allows for rapid, cost-effective, and high-volume manufacturing of structural components that are strong, durable, and lightweight. Maintenance is low cost and can be kept to a minimum.
As pultruded profiles can be customized, they are highly adaptable and can be used to meet the fast-evolving needs of many industries and applications without a high added cost.
To learn how Tencom's experience and customization options can help you accomplish your goals, contact us.