Durability Gap Analysis for Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites in Civil Infrastructure

• B. Benmokrane

  English

  Author

• R. Morganrotey

  English

  Author

A major obstacle to the broad use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in civil infrastructure applications is the absence of a
complete, verified, and easily accessible database regarding the materials' durability. This is of particular importance since the buildings under
consideration are mostly load bearing and will likely be in use for long periods of time without major maintenance or inspection. This
document summarizes the findings of a gap analysis research that was conducted by the Federal Highway Administration and the Civil
Engineering Research Foundation to determine which gaps in durability data were the most important and to rank them in order of
importance. The use of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) in seismic retrofitting, internal and exterior strengthening, structural profiles, panels,
and bridge decks is the primary emphasis of the research. Environments of interest are moisture/solution, alkalinity, creep/relaxation, fatigue,
fire, thermal effects (including freeze-thaw), and ultraviolet exposure.

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