Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements

Muhammad Kalimur Rahman; Mesfer M. Al-Zahrani; Shamsad Ahmad; Mohammed Shameem; Mohammed Rizwan Ali; Mohammed Fasil; Mohammed Al Mehthel

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141

Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements

Muhammad Kalimur Rahman^*
, Mesfer M. Al-Zahrani
, Shamsad Ahmad
, Mohammed Shameem
, Mohammed Rizwan Ali
, Mohammed Fasil
, Mohammed Al Mehthel

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

Long-term durability investigations of two types of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars, ribbed-type and sand-coated type, embedded in concrete elements exposed to a real-life marine environment at the KFUPM Beach, are in progress for a period of 10 years. Over 440 cubical and prismatic GFRP-reinforced concrete specimens, as well as bond specimens, are subjected to cyclic wetting and drying in the tidal zone. One set of specimens was retrieved after one year and tested for tensile strength, bond pull-out, transverse shear, and interlaminar shear to assess their durability. The retrievals or remaining specimens are scheduled at 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. This paper presents the plan for the long-term exposure of specimens in the sea and the results of the tests on the specimens retrieved after two years. First retrieval of the GFRP bar-reinforced specimens revealed that both ribbed-type and sand-coated type GFRP bars demonstrated good durability performance, with only minor degradation compared to the control specimens. These results provide an insight for long-term behavior of GFRP bars in harsh marine environments, though further exposure and testing are needed to assess performance over the full 10-year period.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1
Editors	João R. Correia, José Gonilha, João Firmo, Mário Garrido, Susana Cabral-Fonseca
Publisher	Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages	1501-1512
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Print)	9783032093981
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141
State	Published - 2026
Event	12th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Lisbon, Portugal Duration: 14 Jul 2025 → 16 Jul 2025

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
Volume	777 LNCE
ISSN (Print)	2366-2557
ISSN (Electronic)	2366-2565

Conference

Conference	12th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025
Country/Territory	Portugal
City	Lisbon
Period	14/07/25 → 16/07/25

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

Keywords

GFRP bar reinforcement
Long-term durability
marine exposure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Civil and Structural Engineering

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141

Cite this

Rahman, M. K., Al-Zahrani, M. M., Ahmad, S., Shameem, M., Ali, M. R., Fasil, M., & Al Mehthel, M. (2026). Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements. In J. R. Correia, J. Gonilha, J. Firmo, M. Garrido, & S. Cabral-Fonseca (Eds.), 12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1 (pp. 1501-1512). (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering; Vol. 777 LNCE). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141

Rahman, Muhammad Kalimur ; Al-Zahrani, Mesfer M. ; Ahmad, Shamsad et al. / Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements. 12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1. editor / João R. Correia ; José Gonilha ; João Firmo ; Mário Garrido ; Susana Cabral-Fonseca. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026. pp. 1501-1512 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering).

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abstract = "Long-term durability investigations of two types of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars, ribbed-type and sand-coated type, embedded in concrete elements exposed to a real-life marine environment at the KFUPM Beach, are in progress for a period of 10 years. Over 440 cubical and prismatic GFRP-reinforced concrete specimens, as well as bond specimens, are subjected to cyclic wetting and drying in the tidal zone. One set of specimens was retrieved after one year and tested for tensile strength, bond pull-out, transverse shear, and interlaminar shear to assess their durability. The retrievals or remaining specimens are scheduled at 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. This paper presents the plan for the long-term exposure of specimens in the sea and the results of the tests on the specimens retrieved after two years. First retrieval of the GFRP bar-reinforced specimens revealed that both ribbed-type and sand-coated type GFRP bars demonstrated good durability performance, with only minor degradation compared to the control specimens. These results provide an insight for long-term behavior of GFRP bars in harsh marine environments, though further exposure and testing are needed to assess performance over the full 10-year period.",

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Rahman, MK , Al-Zahrani, MM , Ahmad, S , Shameem, M , Ali, MR , Fasil, M & Al Mehthel, M 2026, Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements. in JR Correia, J Gonilha, J Firmo, M Garrido & S Cabral-Fonseca (eds), 12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol. 777 LNCE, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, pp. 1501-1512, 12th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025, Lisbon, Portugal, 14/07/25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141

Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements. / Rahman, Muhammad Kalimur ; Al-Zahrani, Mesfer M.; Ahmad, Shamsad et al.
12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1. ed. / João R. Correia; José Gonilha; João Firmo; Mário Garrido; Susana Cabral-Fonseca. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026. p. 1501-1512 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering; Vol. 777 LNCE).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements

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AU - Ahmad, Shamsad

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AU - Ali, Mohammed Rizwan

AU - Fasil, Mohammed

AU - Al Mehthel, Mohammed

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

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Y1 - 2026

N2 - Long-term durability investigations of two types of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars, ribbed-type and sand-coated type, embedded in concrete elements exposed to a real-life marine environment at the KFUPM Beach, are in progress for a period of 10 years. Over 440 cubical and prismatic GFRP-reinforced concrete specimens, as well as bond specimens, are subjected to cyclic wetting and drying in the tidal zone. One set of specimens was retrieved after one year and tested for tensile strength, bond pull-out, transverse shear, and interlaminar shear to assess their durability. The retrievals or remaining specimens are scheduled at 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. This paper presents the plan for the long-term exposure of specimens in the sea and the results of the tests on the specimens retrieved after two years. First retrieval of the GFRP bar-reinforced specimens revealed that both ribbed-type and sand-coated type GFRP bars demonstrated good durability performance, with only minor degradation compared to the control specimens. These results provide an insight for long-term behavior of GFRP bars in harsh marine environments, though further exposure and testing are needed to assess performance over the full 10-year period.

AB - Long-term durability investigations of two types of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars, ribbed-type and sand-coated type, embedded in concrete elements exposed to a real-life marine environment at the KFUPM Beach, are in progress for a period of 10 years. Over 440 cubical and prismatic GFRP-reinforced concrete specimens, as well as bond specimens, are subjected to cyclic wetting and drying in the tidal zone. One set of specimens was retrieved after one year and tested for tensile strength, bond pull-out, transverse shear, and interlaminar shear to assess their durability. The retrievals or remaining specimens are scheduled at 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. This paper presents the plan for the long-term exposure of specimens in the sea and the results of the tests on the specimens retrieved after two years. First retrieval of the GFRP bar-reinforced specimens revealed that both ribbed-type and sand-coated type GFRP bars demonstrated good durability performance, with only minor degradation compared to the control specimens. These results provide an insight for long-term behavior of GFRP bars in harsh marine environments, though further exposure and testing are needed to assess performance over the full 10-year period.

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Rahman MK , Al-Zahrani MM , Ahmad S , Shameem M , Ali MR , Fasil M et al. Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements. In Correia JR, Gonilha J, Firmo J, Garrido M, Cabral-Fonseca S, editors, 12th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering, CICE 2025 - Volume 1. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. 2026. p. 1501-1512. (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-09399-8_141

Long-Term Durability Assessment of GFRP Bars in Marine Exposed Concrete Elements

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this