42 • October 2016 www.concreteproducts.com
INNOVATIONS
REINFORCEMENT
As composites of fibers embedded in poly-
meric resins, fiber-reinforced polymers
(FRP) have emerged as an alternative
to steel for concrete reinforcing bars,
offering weight savings, strength and
corrosion-rooted durability advantages,
and longer service life. Manufacturing
advances have positioned FRP rebar as
competitive with conventional steel
reinforcement, and very competitive
with higher performance epoxy-coated
and stainless steel rebar, according to
A-Lok Products.
A well-established source of concrete
drainage structure accessories, A-Lok
recently added to its product offerings
the epoxy resin-bound, basalt fiber
GatorBar. Like other steel alternatives,
basalt FRP production costs have been
higher than steel, owing to typical pro-
duction rates of 5- to 10-ft./minute. A
proprietary process is now yielding Gator-
Bar at 75- to 120-ft./minute rates. Basalt
fiber also takes less energy to produce
than carbon or glass fiber and steel.
Price parity is not the only benefit
of basalt FRP, A-Lok notes. Compared
to steel rebar, GatorBar has a 7x weight
advantage and double the service life.
Higher tensile strength properties
enable a #3 GatorBar to compete with a
#4 steel rebar. — A-Lok Products, Tully-
town, Pa., 800/822-2565, 215/547-3366;
www.a-lok.com
A-Lok looks past steel to basalt fiber reinforced polymer rebar
GatorBar grids take shape with the Kodi Klip automatic rebar tying tool. At 15 percent the
weight of conventional steel rebar, GatorBar affords transportation economies and estimated
labor savings equivalent to 1 man-hour per ton placed.