ABSTRACT
Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is nowadays a common practice in tunnelling; they are used in several applications as provisional structures, in a safe and cost effective way. Classical example is the so called “soft eye” where a TBM has to pass. GFRP bars have a much higher tensile strength than steel rebars, they are easily machined and can be broken down into small pieces by the cutter head and can then be transported by the conveyor system together with the spoil. We’ll describe other different applications of this kind of material as structural elements in the conventional tunnelling, manual constructed reinforcement cages in big launching shafts, ending in special products in the railway industry, where the anti-galvanic corrosion properties are unique. Maplad is working also on special basalt fiber polymer elements, which show increased mechanical and physical properties, most probably the product of the next future.
