The widespread use of Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) reinforced concrete (RC) structural members is hindered by their low fire resistant characteristics, limiting their use to cases, where fire resistance is not a priority. Presented and discussed are experimental results pertaining to the flexural members subjected to heating and simultaneous loading. Solely non-metallic FRP bars: (i) Basalt FRP (BFRP), (ii) Hybrid FRP (HFRP) with carbon and basalt fibres and (ii) nano-Hybrid FRP (nHFRP) with modified epoxy resin, were used as internal reinforcement for beams. The destruction of the beams was caused in different ways, beams reinforced with BFRP bars were destroyed by reinforcement failure while those reinforced with hybrid FRP bars were destroyed by concrete crushing. The BFRP reinforced beams obtained a maximum temperature, measured directly on the bars, of 917 °C, compared to beams reinforced with hybrid FRP bars, where the temperature on the bars reached 400-550 °C at failure. Moreover, the highest registered ductility was obtained for BFRP reinforced beams as well, where the maximum deflections reached approximately 16 cm.

The durability of building structures reinforced by steel is one of the main concerns in civil engineering. Currently, research in the field is focused on the possibility of replacing steel with relatively corrosion-resistant reinforcement, such as BFRP (Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymers) bars. The behaviour of BFRP bars during compression has not yet been determined. The experimental results pertaining to BFRP bars subjected to compression were presented and discussed in the paper. The research program involved the preparation of 45 BFRP samples with varying unbraced length and nominal diameter of 8 mm that were subjected to compression. For samples with the unbraced length of up to 85 mm, the destruction was caused by crushing. The bars with the unbraced length greater than 120 mm were destroyed as a result of global buckling of the bar and subsequent fiber kinking. Based on the relationship between the buckling load strength – unbraced length, the optimal unbraced length of BFRP bar was determined, for which buckling load strength reaches its maximum value. The buckling load strength decreased, as the unbraced length increased. The values of modulus of elasticity under compression for variable unbraced lengths were slightly different for the samples, and were similar to the modulus of elasticity obtained at the tensile testing. The relationship between the buckling load strength and the unbraced length of BFRP bars was determined. This may contribute to the optimization of the transverse reinforcement spacing in compressed elements and to the development of standard provisions in the area of elements reinforced with FRP bars being subjected to compression.

Over the past decades, using of sustainable materials in construction is a challenging issue, thus Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) took the attention of civil and structural engineers for its lightweight and high-strength properties. The paper describes the results of the shear strength testing of three different types of bars: (i) basalt- FRP (BFRP), (ii) hybrid FRP with carbon and basalt fibres (HFRP) and (iii) nano-hybrid FRP (nHFRP), with modification of the epoxy matrix of the bar. The hybridization of carbon and basalt fibres lead to more costefficient alternative than Carbon FRP (CFRP) bars and more sustainable alternative than Basalt FRP (BFRP) bars. The BFRP, HFRP and nHFRP bars with different diameters ranging from Ø4 to Ø18 mm were subjected to shear strength testing in order to investigate mechanical properties and the destruction mechanism of the bars. Obtained results display a slight downward trend as the bar diameter increase, which is the most noticeable for HFRP bars. In most of the cases, BFRP bars were characterized by greater shear deformation and less shear strength compared to HFRP and nHFRP bars. Performed testing may contribute to comprehensive understanding of the mechanical behavior of those types of FRP bars.