FRP materials for structural applications

iber Reinforced Polymers (FRP), consisting of a combination of resin and fiber materials, were proposed between the 1960s and 1970s for aeronautic, aerospace and naval applications. Sporadic realizations to civil structures were performed, such as: 1) the “house of the future”, built in the Disneyland Park of Anaheim, California in 1957; 2) a reinforced-plastic pedestrian bridge erected in Tel-Aviv, Israel in 1972. Starting in the 1980s further FRP applications were made regarding the repair and retrofitting of existing structures, thanks to developments in Japan and Europe. The growth in demand of civil applications stimulated the implementation of codes and standards that defined the required performances for the retrofitting of existing structure, as well as the realization of new structures, such as composite bridges and buildings or concrete structures reinforced with FRP bars. In this framework, the author has been involved in a set of research programs, the results of which are discussed in this paper. The studies performed regard experimental tests, analytical and numerical modelling that are based on micro-plane and lattice approaches. The work is organized in two parts, the first regards External Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) for the reinforcement of existing structures, and the second, pultruded FRP elements for new structures. The EBR study concerns the confinement of axial loaded concrete elements, as well as flexural and shear strengthening. The study on FRP elements are finalized to the design, in progress, of a composite cable stayed pedestrian bridge.