TITLE: TENSILE STRENGTH AND ELASTICITY PROPERTIES ON GFRP IN

UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES
CHAPTER ONE

1.0 BACKGROUND STUDY

Malaysia is currently undergoing rapid urbanization phase which led to disturbance of

soil that left a huge impact on soil stability and strength of soil. The rate of
urbanization in Malaysia is on the increase, from about 25% in 1960 to 65% in 2005
and is expected to exceed 70% by 2020. The rate of urbanization in Malaysia has been
very rapid since the 1970s (Chin Siong Ho, 2008). The rapid urbanization is expected
to grow larger every year which brought concern regarding soil stability for
development, especially for residential and road infrastructure.
Improving the quality of soil before executing a construction is very crucial to ensure
safety for numbers of year ahead. There are many ways introduced by previous
geotechnical engineers in an effort to improve the quality of soil, such as making
foundation to be placed underground to support the load of a building, especially tall
building. Many of the traditional design methods cannot be applied with any
confidence since they require extrapolation well beyond the realms of prior
experience, and accordingly, structural and geotechnical designers are being forced to
utilise more sophisticated methods of analysis and design (Harry G. Poulos, 2016).
However, this method has few a drawbacks regarding the material of reinforcement
used.
The use of glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) is an innovative choice of
material to replace traditional steel bars. Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)
composite materials, among other fiber reinforced materials, have been increasingly
replacing conventional materials with their excellent strength and low specific weight
properties (Meltem Altin Karatas and Hasan Gokkaya, 2018). However, the suitability
of the material is concerning engineers especially on environment due to unclear
strength and durability of the material itself.
2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Soil stabilization is a common practice to improve the soil quality of the site. In most
cases, reinforcement is placed underground to support the load of the structure that is
being construct on the ground. Traditionally, steel bars are the most common type of
reinforcement used in a foundation as it is easy to obtain and low in price. However,
there are some issue with using the traditional steel bar which led to further problem
in the foundation’s workablity. The most common issue faced when using a
traditional steel rebar is rusting. Various explanations of the rusting were suggested
including the adsorption of moisture, electrolysis and intense surface heating (G.A.
Tomlison, 1927). Rusting of steel could affect the strength of steel making it less
durable over time. Corrosion levels less than 3% present a minor tensile-strength
reduction of approximately 3%, whereas the tensile strength may decrease to 75-90%
when the corrosion level increases more than 10% (Huang, Chung Ho, 2014). Hence,
glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) is invented as an alternative to traditional steel.
However, the workability of the material is yet to be confirmed by engineers. The
following question have led the researcher to conduct a study on the material.

(a) How great is the tensile strength of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)
compare to steel rebars?
(b) How will the material behave as an underground support system?
(c) What is the physical properties of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)?

3.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The study aims to evaluate the performance of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)
as an alternative to traditional steel rebars. Moreover, this study suggests several other
objective as follows:
(a) To analyse the tensile strength of GFRP to be compared with traditional
steel rebars.
(b) To evaluate the characteristic of the glass fiber reinforced polymer
(GFRP).
(c) To evaluate the feasibility of the material for underground structure.
4.0 SCOPE AND LIMITATION
The research on the material are focused towards laboratory works and preparation of
the sample. The material will undergo tensile test and elasticity testing to determine
how properties of the material. In determining the properties of the material, 3
samples of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) will be used to be compared with 3
samples of Y-bar and R-bar. Samples will then be tested by using universal tensile
machine (UTM) to determine its tensile strength and elasticity properties. Not only
that, density of the material will also be taken into account. Both of the result of the
glass fiber reinforced polymer, Y-bar, and R-bar were then compared to study the
material’s properties.
However, there is a potential limitation regarding the material that may slow to
process of obtaining the data. Since glass fiber reinforced polymer is fairly a new type
of material, researcher may find it hard to get the material. The resources to getting
the material is also limited due to very limited supplier providing the glass fiber
reinforced polymer (GFRP).

5.0 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study on glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) properties is important due to the
problems faced by geotechnical engineers involving soil stabilization works. The
invention of the material brings the purpose of being an alternative for traditional steel
bar as the reinforcement of a underground support structure. However, there is no
further research on the material’s properties and its ability to sustain the load
distributed to it. This study will help geotechnical engineers to have knowledge on the
material behavior which helps in determining the best type of reinforcement for
underground support structure.