Workshop on Research in FRP Composites in Concrete Construction

Principal Investigator:

Max Porter, mporter@iastate.edu (other projects)

Project Status: In Progress

Start Date: 01/01/2004
End Date: 12/31/2004

Reports:

• 03/01/2005, http://www.ccee.iastate.edu/reports/frp_workshop.pdf 468k (*pdf)

Research Objective: The research community has made great progress identifying and quantifying the characteristics of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials used in infrastructure applications. A growing number of demonstration projects and commercial applications contribute to the knowledge base in this area.

The use of FRP materials in infrastructure is still in its infancy, however, and a number of issues remain to be adequately addressed. In some cases, the dearth of understanding and/or design guidance represents a significant limitation to the broader implementation of FRP materials in infrastructure applications.

The objective of this workshop was to identify and prioritize research areas and issues which industry, practitioners and academia identify as requiring further attention in order to improve our understanding of the behavior of FRP materials and FRP structural and repair systems.

The objectives of the workshop were as follows:
(1) Develop a consensus of the current state-of-the-art in the application FRP composites for infrastructure applications through a review of previous and pending research projects and field applications.
(2) Identify critical research needs affecting the implementation of FRP composites in construction applications and develop a consensus on the priority of these needs.
(3) Identify emerging and novel applications for FRP composites in infrastructure and identify additional research needs associated with these.
(4) Develop a coordinated plan for a unified research approach to addressing research needs and matching research needs with appropriate funding agencies/opportunities.
(5) Identify improved mechanisms by which research results may be disseminated in a manner appropriate to the implementation of FRP composites in infrastructure.
(6) Provide a brief assessment of research facilities and capabilities in the United States pursuant to the identified research needs.

The workshop was held October 22-23, 2004, at the San Francisco Hilton immediately preceding the 2004 ACI Fall Convention. Forty-eight participants representing academe, industry and government from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Belgium were in attendance.

Seven workshop sessions were held addressing relatively broad topic headings. Topic-specific research priorities were established and refined in a final plenary session from which the final priority of research needs was established. This report documents the activities of the workshop.

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