Fiberglass Rebar Codes

Mike Simon | August 1, 2023

While it has been around for 40+ years, glass-fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP or fiberglass rebar) is a rapidly developing space. It’s gained traction historically because of superior material properties, based upon this interest it has progressed in a deliberate way from academic research to codes, test methods, and specifications. Furthermore this has also been accompanied by a more recent and dramatic decrease in the cost of fiberglass rebar, which is now often cheaper than black steel rebar.

Design

Standard	Type	Title	Original Date of Publication
ACI 440.01	Guide	Guide for the Design and Construction of Structural Concrete Reinforced with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bars	2006
ACI 440.6	Specification	Specification for Carbon and Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bar Materials for Concrete Reinforcement	2008
AASHTO GFRP-1	Specification	” AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Guide Specifications for GFRP-Reinforced Concrete Bridge Decks and Traffic Railings	2019
TMS 402/602	Code	Appendix D “Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforced Masonry”	2022
ACI 440.11	Code	Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete Reinforced with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Bars—Code and Commentary	2022

Material

Standard	Type	Title	Original Date of Publication
D7205	Test Method	Tensile Properties of FRP Composite Bars	2006
D7290	Practice	Evaluating Material Property Characteristic Values for Polymeric Composites	2006
D7337	Test Method	Tensile Creep Rupture of FRP Composite Bars	2007
D7522	Test Method	Pull-Off Strength for FRP Laminate Systems Bonded to Concrete or Masonry Substrates	2009
D7565	Test Method	Tensile Properties of FRP Composites Used for Strengthening of Civil Structures	2009
D7616	Test Method	Overlap Splice Shear Strength Properties of Wet Layup FRP Composites Used for Strengthening Civil Structures	2011
D7617	Test Method	Transverse Shear Strength of FRP Composite Bars	2011
D7705	Test Method	Alkali Resistance of FRP Composite Bars Used in Concrete Construction	2012
D7913	Test Method	Bond Strength of FRP Compose Bas to Concrete by Pullout Testing	2014
D7914	Test Method	Strength of FRP Bent Bars i Bend Locations	2014
D7957	Specification	Solid Round Glass FRP Bars for Concrete Reinforcement	2017
D7958	Test Method	Performance for FRP Composite Bonded to Concrete Using Beam Test	2017
D8337	Test Method	Bond Properties of FRP Composite to Concrete Substrate sing Single-Lap Shear Test	2021
D8505	Specification	Basalt and Glass FRP Bars for Concrete Reinforcement	2023

Bold lines are of particular interest to the design professional

This is meant to be a start and not an exhaustive list of the relevant codes for the design professional interested in GFRP. There are many great resources beyond the standards setting bodies like ACI’s NEx and industry publications like Composites World.