2.6.

3 FRP materials should be processed using the resins and glass fibres specified above,
and by adding any necessary fillers, coloring agents, artificial fibres, etc., as required
to ensure that the performance requirements stipulated in Table 2.7 are satisfied.

Table 2.7 Physical Properties of FRP Materials

Property Performance Testing Method
Tensile strength > 59N/mm2 JIS K 7054
Flexural strength > 78N/mm2 JIS K 7055
Flexural modulus > 5.9×103 N/mm2 JIS K 7055
Glass content > 25wt% JIS K 7052
Barcol hardness > 30 JIS K 7060
Water absorption < 1.0% JIS K 6919

2.7 Timber

This section is omitted in this English version.

Commentary
1. Component Materials of FRP

FRP basically consists of a fibre reinforcement in a resin matrix. FRP used for water tanks, use a
compound resin consisting of hardening agents, colouring agents, mineral fillers, etc., in an
unsaturated polyester resin. The fibre reinforcement is generally glass fibre of the no alkali glass type
bundled from 50 ~ 2000 filaments of 8 ~ 13μm in diameter in a processed mat, cloth or roving state
depending upon the intended use. The resin, glass fibre, additional fillers, and other materials should
be equal to or better than the requirements specified in the relevant Japanese Industrial Standards
indicated in sections 2.6.1, 2.6.2 and 2.6.3 above. Additional consideration should be given to the
hygiene requirements for materials used in drinking water tanks.

2. Performance and Allowable Stress of FRP

The performance of FRP may be changed by varying the combinations of the resin, glass fibre, and
other agents to meet the requirements indicated. For water tanks, the combinations should be such
that the mechanical and physical performance criteria specified in 2.6.3 are satisfied.

An approximation of the relationship of tensile stress and strain of FRP is shown in Fig. 2.6.1. FRP
material with a tensile strength greater than 59A/mm2 is used provided the material characteristics
satisfy the minimum requirements noted in 2.6.3. The strain at break point is between 2% ~ 3%.
Allowable stress of FRP is determined for the static properties at normal temperature, taking into
account degradation within the durable period, material deviations, etc. Tables 2.6.1, 2.6.2, and
2.6.3 show the current method used to determine the allowable stresses in the design of FRP water
tanks. In this illustration, the static properties of FRP at normal temperature are determined as the
standard value, the limited value - considering the degradation within durable period (15years) - is
then calculated, and finally the allowable stress is calculated by dividing the limited value by a safety
factor (See Table 2.6.3.).

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 Static properties at normal temperature
Ft

0.7 Ft Limited value (15 years)

Stress

0.318 Ft Allowable stress - short term loading (0.7 Ft / S1)

0.212Ft Allowable stress - long term loading (0.7 Ft /1.5 S1)

0 Strain %

Fig. 2.6.1 Characteristics of tensile stress and strain of FRP and an example of allowable
stress determination. In this case, S1=2.2 (Mat hand-lay-up material).

Table 2.6.1 Allowable stress based on fracture strength

Allowable Stress
Fracture Strength Standard Value *1 Limited Value
Short Term*2 Long Term*3
Tensile strength Ft 0.7 Ft 0.7 Ft / S1*4 0.7 Ft / 1.5S1

Flexural strength Fb 0.6 Fb 0.6 Fb / S1 0.6 Fb / 1.5S1

In-plane shear strength Fs 0.7 Fs 0.7 Fs / S1 0.7 Fs / 1.5S1

Interlaminar shear strength FIS 0.7 FIS 0.7 FIS / S1 0.7 FIS / 1.5S1

Transverse shear strength FT 0.6 FT 0.6 FT / S1 0.6 FT / 1.5S1

Compressive strength FB 0.7 FB 0.7 FB / S1 0.7 FB / 1.5S1

*1
Standard value -static properties at normal temperature
*2
Short-term - considering short-term loading
*3
Long-term - considering long-term loading
*4
The definition of S1 is given in Table 2.6.3.

For long-term loading, hydrostatic pressure, dead loads, etc., should be divided by 1.5 to take into
account creep phenomena.

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 Table 2.6.2 Allowable Properties of Modulus

Allowable
Modulus Standard Value Limited Value
Properties

Tensile Modulus Et 0.8 Et 0.8 Et / S2*

Flexural Modulus Eb 0.8 Eb 0.8 Eb / S2

In-Plane Shear Modulus G 0.8 G 0.8 G / S2

* The definition of S2 is given in Table 2.6.3.

Table 2.6.3 Safety factor of FRP (S1, S2)

Strength Criteria of Material (S1) Stiffness Criteria of Structure (S2)

1.72 LS 1.58 LS

LS is the coefficient of dispersion for material properties of FRP.

(In the case of fracture strength, tensile strength and flexural strength; in the case of stiffness,
tensile modulus and flexural modulus.)

LS is determined by the following equation, based on material properties obtained from more than
10 test pieces.

LS = 1 /{ 1 − 3.09( σ / x )}

where: x = average of material properties

σ = standard deviation.

The allowable properties to be determined depends on the criteria of fracture strength or stiffness;
i.e., if the criteria is based on strength of material, the allowable stress should be determined on the
base of strength, and if the criteria is based on stiffness of structure, the allowable properties
should be determined on the base of stiffness. The safety factor should be the value considering the
effect of circumstance temperature of water tanks used, and deviation of material properties.

The material properties of FRP should be determined by the following test methods.

JIS K 7051: General rules for testing methods of glass fibre reinforced plastics.
JIS K 7054: Testing method for tensile properties of glass fibre reinforced plastics.
JIS K 7055: Testing method for flexural properties of glass fibre reinforced plastics.
JIS K 7056: Testing method for compressive properties of glass fibre reinforced plastic.
JIS K 7057: Fibre-reinforced plastic composites - Determination of apparent interlaminar
shear strength by short-beam method.
JIS K 7059: Testing method for in-plane shear properties of glass fibre reinforced plastics.

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