REVIEW OF THE EFFICIENCY OF REINFORCEMENT BY FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER MATERIALS. FIRE RESISTANCE OF STRUCTURES

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) are rapidly gaining popularity in various fields of civil engineering. For decades, these materials have been used to strengthen structures that are not exposed to fire, such as bridges. To apply this reinforcement method to increase the bearing capacity of structures of buildings and structures, fire resistance is an important feature for any material. Due to the small amount of research in this area, there is no technical documentation for these structures that regulates the coupling properties and mechanical characteristics at elevated temperatures necessary for design. There is also a need to develop a simple method for calculating the fire resistance and thickness of an insulating material for a reinforced structure. This article combines existing studies of the operation of fibers and a binder reinforcement system at high temperatures. The article also presents experimental results and numerical studies at elevated temperatures of various authors for isolated and non-insulated reinforced concrete structures reinforced with polymer composite materials. In addition, a comparison of the fire resistance of two main methods of reinforcing polymer composite materials is given: an externally bonded reinforcement and a near surface mounted method. Strengthening structures by near surface mounted method has great advantages compared to strengthening by externally bonded reinforcement.