Historically, rebar appears to be the most commonly used raw material in construction and the way we see it, there is no clear substitute to it. Whatever the built structure is, it must include concrete blocks, walls or foundation and all concrete must be reinforced. Steel rebar has long been the only option of concrete reinforcement but given that the construction landscape continues to evolve, there is now a substitute to steel and it is overwhelming.
This substitute comes in the form of composite rebar and mesh. Such rebar is manufactured either from fiberglass or basalt and today, as an introductory post, we would like to go over the main benefits that FRP rebar carries and just how much more advanced it is compared to steel.
The basics behind GFRP rebar and mesh
As mentioned earlier, GFRP rebar and mesh is manufactured from a mix of fiberglass and resin. Then comes basalt. It serves as a great substitute to fiberglass and usually the final raw materials to be used in GFRP rebar production are decided based on the accessibility of these products. Some opt for fiberglass, others go with basalt, although the characteristics of the end GFRP product are not that much different.
Nevertheless, these characteristics are mind blowing. FRP rebar and mesh have already undergone a large variety of tests worldwide and are now becoming the new standard of concrete reinforcement. Such tests were executed by the renowned universities and construction certification institutions and the results make it apparent that FRP rebar is here to stay. Only question that remains, is how quickly it will become the new product of choice, but we believe that based on the lower price and much more advanced characteristics, it won’t be long.
GFRP rebar and mesh advantages and traits
Although we have already covered the FRP rebar and mesh advantages on the technical page of our website, let’s quickly run through them once again as a reminder of what composite products are all about.
1. Corrosion free. Unlike steel rebar, GFRP rebar does not rust. This makes it perfect for application in structures that are located in coastal zones, near the water or even in it. Steel on the other hand is prone to rust and once this process begins, concrete cracks and it is when you need to refurbish the construction. In other words, structures built with steel rebar require further investments as the time goes by.
2. Strength. GFRP rebar is much harder than steel. It doesn’t bend the way steel rebar does but at the same time it can take a much greater strain. Nevertheless, the bend factor is already resolved by the right way of connecting two rebars at their linking points. Based on the test conducted by several institutes, such structures withstand earthquakes like no steel rebar construction can, whilst a mix of steel and FRP rebars also show outstanding results.
3. Price. Being a factor that is closely related to running an FRP rebar production, price plays an incremental role in its success. Simply put, steel rebar grows in price according to the increase in steel price and this exponential growth sees no signs of stopping. Fiberglass rebar production on the other hand, benefits from constant price levels of raw materials. In fact, it is apparent that the greater the price increase of steel rebar will be, the more GFRP rebar will be in demand. Moreover, high prices of steel rebar allow fiberglass rebar manufacturers to benefit from high margins, as most price their end product so that it matches its main competitor.
4. Weight. Fiberglass rods are nearly 8 times lighter than steel rebar and this once again benefits the production process and rebar delivery. More so, when rebar manufacturing equipment produces fiberglass rods, the engineers that monitor the process can easily carry it around and same cannot be replicated with steel. Transportation comes as an added benefit if you run an GFRP rebar production, as it allows to minimize the delivery costs.
5. Signal, electricity and waves. The fact that fiberglass rebar does not conduct electricity and doesn’t interfere with signal makes it perfect for concrete reinforcement of airports, hospitals, underground projects, military structures, research centres and many more. Same cannot be said about steel but due to the late appearance of composite technology, many construction companies are faced with the task of changing steel reinforced concrete to composites.
Setting up GFRP rebar production equipment
A great benefit of GFRP rebar equipment is that it is easy to set up. We have been manufacturing and perfecting our lines for over a decade now and made them practically turn key and fully automated. Therefore, if you believe that it is time for you to start GFRP rebar production, the process of production control will be as easy as running a calculator app on your PC.
An issue we faced at some point along this development, was that sometimes, the fiberglass rebar that comes in rods of 4 and 6 was not of consistent quality. But, we managed to resolve this early in our growth and achieved such results, that our clients now make the most of continuous production quality, not harmed by inconsistency that would imply additional rebar production costs.
The whole manufacturing process can be described as pultrusion of fiberglass or basalt roving that when mixed with resin, turns into composite rebar. Over the course of our production lines advancements we have conquered this technology and even implemented know-how, that is now globally considered to be the best in class.
The future of GFRP rebar in construction
We believe that the future of wide composite rebar application is imminent. Given that its advantages greatly outweigh everything that steel rebar imposes on the market it is a no brainer that construction companies across the world already show high demand for the product. Variety of applications also serves as a great reason why the demand is set to only increase. Moreover as a company that manufactures GFRP pultrusion equipment, we constantly get requests for the end product and the volume of requests is overwhelming to say the least.
As an additional example, the clients that order our fiberglass rebar production lines, usually have a fully booked production at the time of an order placement. What more is there to say? Not much, given how hot this construction market is.
Final words on GFRP rebar production
he benefits of composite rebar are not limited by the aforemention facts. Still, the ones that you are now acquainted with, have proved themselves as push strong enough for the industry to change. Today, we see FRP rebar being applied in concrete reinforcement all over the world already and the trend is set to only expand further. Construction companies use composite rebar and mesh in civil engineering, industrial grade structures and everywhere else where there is concrete. Resultantly, the future is bright for composite rebar and the only question is when will you, become part of it.
