Reinforced Concrete Design
WITH FRP Composites
.jpeg "Reinforced Concrete Design WITH FRP Composites")
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites (the combination of two or more materials) have emerged as an evolutionary link in the development of new materials from conventional materials. Used more often in the defense and aerospace industries, advanced composites are beginning to play the role of conventional materials
(commodities) used for load-bearing structural components for infrastructure applications.
These unique materials are now being used worldwide for building new structures as well as for rehabilitating in-service structures. Application of composites in infrastructural systems on a high-volume basis has come about as a result of the many desirable characteristics of composites that are superior to those of conventional materials such as steel, concrete, and wood.
The increased use of composites in thousands of applications — domestic, industrial, commercial, medical, defense, and construction — has created a need for knowledgeable professionals as well as specific literature dedicated to advancing
the theory and design of composites to provide a compendium of engineering principles for structural applications in general and concrete structures in particular.
A rich body of literature — texts and handbooks — exists on composites, such as the manufacturing of composites and the analysis and design of composite lamina based on laminated plate theory. In spite of considerable work that has been carried
out over the past 50 years, notably in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and several European countries involving concrete and composites, literature in the form of comprehensive texts that can be practically used for composites in conjunction with concrete construction is sparse.
