Bearing Capacity of Stone Beam Reinforced by GFRP

One of the most common issues faced by builders during the reconstruction is the issue of durability and corrosion resistance of structures reinforced with steel reinforcement, especially in the presence of an aggressive environment in special purpose buildings. Annually new materials appear on the market of building materials that can change the idea of standard construction. Glass fiber reinforcement polymer is such the material highly resistant to aggressive environments. More than 40% of buildings are made of fine artificial stone materials (bricks, stones, blocks); it is an environmentally friendly material, which is also resistant to aggressive environments if the manufacturing technology is ensured. The rational combination of a brick and GFRP reinforcement together with maintenance of their reliable joint work will allow to develop more widely the field of this materials’ usage. Prefabricated load-bearing ceramic beams are relevant in terms of their economic use in construction, because they can be manufactured directly on construction sites, where it is impossible to provide access for machinery due to lack of space. Therefore it is good solution in terms of technical difficulties in installation of usual reinforced concrete lintels with the use of crane. The use of GFRP reinforcement has a number of advantages comparing with the classic steel reinforcement; coefficient of thermal expansion of reinforcement and concrete are rather close, which prevents formation of cracks when the temperature changes.