Durability of Composites for Civil Structural Applications


Book Description

Provides practising engineers, decision makers and students with a useful and fundamental guide to the use of FRP composites within civil and structural engineering. A P Mouritz, RMIT, Australia.




Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural Applications in Construction


Book Description

Over the past three decades advanced polymer composites have emerged as an attractive construction material for new structures and the strengthening/rehabilitation of existing buildings and bridges. The techniques associated with the technology, analysis and design of polymer composites in construction are continually being researched and the progress made with this exciting material will continue at an ever- increasing rate to meet the demands of the construction industry. This volume of proceedings is from the Second ACIC 2004 International Conference, which focused on the application and further exploitation of advanced composites in construction. The conference allowed practising engineers, asset managers, researchers and representative of regulatory bodies to promote the active exchange of scientific and technical information on the rapidly changing scene of advanced composites in construction. This volume focuses on the presentation of new concepts, techniques and case studies, which will lead to greater exploitation of advanced polymer composites and FRP materials for civil engineering infrastructure, rehabilitation and renewal. - Presents new concepts, techniques and case studies




Environmental/durability Evaluation of FRP Composite Strengthened Bridges


Book Description

The experimental evaluation of the durability of RC beams externally strengthened with CFRP plates/fabrics is presented. Experimental investigation consisted of testing a total of seventy eight RC beams under various environmental conditions such as 100% humidity, dry-heat, salt-water and alkaline solutions, freeze-thaw and thermal expansion cycles, and repeated load effects. Accelerated aging procedures were used to correlate the strength and stiffness degradation as per ASTM standards. All the test beams were subjected to ultimate load test after appropriate environmental conditioning. A durability based design approach for analysis and design of externally strengthened beams is also presented.




Externally Bonded FRP Reinforcement for RC Structures


Book Description

In December 1996, the then CEB established a Task Group with the main objective to elaborate design guidelines for the use of FRP reinforcement in accordance with the design format of the CEB-FIP Model Code and Eurocode2. With the merger of CEB and FIP into fib in 1998, this Task Group became fib TG 9.3 FRP Reinforcement for concrete structures in Commission 9 Reinforcing and Prestressing Materials and Systems. The Task Group consists of about 60 members, representing most European universities, research institutes and industrial companies working in the field of advanced composite reinforcement for concrete structures, as well as corresponding members from Canada, Japan and USA. Meetings are held twice a year and on the research level its work is supported by the EU TMR (European Union Training and Mobility of Researchers) Network "ConFibreCrete”. The work of fib TG 9.3 is performed by five working parties (WP): Material Testing and Characterization (MT&C) Reinforced Concrete (RC) Prestressed Concrete (PC) Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) Marketing and Applications (M&A) This technical report constitutes the work conducted as of to date by the EBR party. This bulletin gives detailed design guidelines on the use of FRP EBR, the practical execution and the quality control, based on the current expertise and state-of-the-art knowledge of the task group members. It is regarded as a progress report since it is not the aim of this report to cover all aspects of RC strengthening with composites. Instead, it focuses on those aspects that form the majority of the design problems. several of the topics presented are subject of ongoing research and development, and the details of some modelling approaches may be subject to future revisions. as knowledge in this field is advancing rapidly, the work of the EBR WP will continue. Inspite of this limit in scope, considerable effort has been made to present a bulletin that is today’s state-of-art in the area of strengthening of concrete structures by means of externally bonded FRP reinforcement.







Durability of Composites for Civil Structural Applications


Book Description

Given the increasing use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in structural civil engineering, there is a vital need for critical information related to the overall durability and performance of these new materials under harsh and changing conditions. Durability of composites for civil and structural applications provides a thorough overview of key aspects of the durability of FRP composites for designers and practising engineers.Part one discusses general aspects of composite durability. Chapters examine mechanisms of degradation such as moisture, aqueous solutions, UV radiation, temperature, fatigue and wear. Part two then discusses ways of using FRP composites, including strengthening and rehabilitating existing structures with FRP composites, and monitoring techniques such as structural health monitoring.Durability of composites for civil and structural applications provides practising engineers, decision makers and students with a useful and fundamental guide to the use of FRP composites within civil and structural engineering. - Provides a thorough overview of key aspects of the durability of composites - Examines mechanisms of degradation such as aqueous solutions, moisture, fatigue and wear - Discusses ways of using FRP composites, including strengthening and rehabilitating existing structures




FRP Reinforcement in RC Structures


Book Description

fib Bulletin 40 deals mainly with the use of FRP bars as internal reinforcement for concrete structures. The background of the main physical and mechanical properties of FRP reinforcing bars is presented, with special emphasis on durability aspects. For each of the typical ultimate and serviceability limit states, the basic mechanical model is given, followed by different design models according to existing codes or design guidelines. Composite FRP materials are still relatively new in construction and most engineers are unfamiliar with their properties and characteristics. The second chapter of this bulletin therefore aims to provide practising engineers with the necessary background knowledge in this field, and also presents typical products currently available in the international market. The third chapter deals with the issue of durability and identifies the parameters that can lead to deterioration, which is necessary information when addressing design issues. A series of parameters is used to identify the allowable stress in the FRP after exposure for a specified period of time in a specific environment. The bulletin covers the issues of Ultimate Limit States (primarily dealing with flexural design), Serviceability Limit States (dealing with deflections and cracking), Shear and Punching Shear and Bond and Tension Stiffening. It provides not only the state-of-the-art but also in many cases ideas for the next generation of design guidelines. The final chapter deals with the fundamental issue of design philosophy. The use of these new materials as concrete reinforcement has forced researchers to re-think many of the fundamental principles used until now in RC design. The bulletin ends with a discussion of a possible new framework for developing partial safety factors to ensure specific safety levels that will be flexible enough to cope with new materials.







Structures Strengthened with Bonded Composites


Book Description

Structures Strengthened with Bonded Composites presents a comprehensive resource on the strengthening of concrete, reinforced and prestressed concrete, masonry, steel and other composite structures using externally-bonded FRP composites. The book emphasizes a systematic and fundamental investigation on bonding and debonding behavior of the FRP-concrete interface and structural performances of FRP-strengthened structures with a combination of experimental, theoretical and numerical studies. This book will appeal to all those concerned with strengthening and retrofitting of existing structures from the effect of additional anticipated loads in the civil sector. - Discusses the FRP strengthening of different types of structures, including bridges, tunnels, buildings, historic structures and underwater constructions - Establishes a systematic theory on interfacial fracture mechanics and clarifies different debonding mechanisms - Describes design methods and makes comparison of design considerations and methods among different countries - Presents temperature and fatigue effects and long-term behavior for different strengthening methods