FIDIA S.r.l. - Technical Global Services is specialized in designing new RC and PC structures reinforced with FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) bars. Concerning new constructions, the use of FRP bars in replacement of traditional steel bars, has had a continuous increment in the realization of structural and architectonical concrete members, thanks to their natural resistance to corrosion, their electrical and magnetic trasparency (in case of glass fibers), their lower wiegth, and their high strength capacity compared to steel.
While carbon fiber sheets are mostly used for traditional strenghtening, new construction is mostly designed using glass fibers (GFRP bars), thanks to their excellent physical-mechanical properties compared to steel bars and lower costs among the other type of fibers. GFRP rebars are particulalry suggested for the construction:

• of bridge decks, approach slabs, parking strucutres, rail roadcrossing, thanks to their high durability and their resistance to clorides, that are used in winter for the de-iceing, causing the degradation of concrete and reducing the life of the structure;



• in tunneling and mining applications such as soft-eye openings for tunneling boring machine (TBM's) and temporary works; rock nails, electrolytic and ore extraction tanks;



• of industrial plants subjected to very aggressive chemical substances that may require thick concrete covers for steel rebars withouth completely guaranteeing the protection of internal reinforcement; GFRP bars are also used for retaining walls and for concrete infrastructures that are subjected to long and aggresive degradation;



• of concrete marine structures such as seawalls, buildings and structures near waterfronts, artificial reefs and water breaks, floating marine decks;



• of members exposed to high voltage, such as open sky railways or subways, floors of railway overbridges, by solving problems related to galvanic corrosion;



• of structures subjected to electomagnetic fields in civil or industrial applications such as MRI rooms in hospitals, airport radio, transformers and substations, by avoiding all the interferences between the equipment and the GFRP bar reinforcement;



• of architectural and decorative concrete thanks to the durability of GFRP bars, allows avoiding issues related to durability and still allows containing manufacturing production costs.


Thanks to the recently published design guidelines CNR-DT 203/2006, this technology, already spread in the USA and in Canada, has had a continuous increment and places Italy on the forefront with the other countries, allowing very important development in this particular field of construction engineering.