Improving Sustainability in Concrete Structures using Corrosion-Resistant FRP Reinforcements: A Shear Behaviour Study

Background

Sweden's extensive coastline necessitates robust coastal infrastructure, crucial for its economy but challenged by corrosion from deicing salts and marine environments, affecting over 10,000 bridges. This corrosion, contributing to annual losses of 4% of Sweden's GNP, undermines infrastructure longevity and contradicts sustainability goals. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites, known for their strength, lightness, and resistance to corrosion, offer a sustainable solution. However, current building codes for FRP-reinforced concrete, particularly in estimating the shear capacity of slender concrete beams with FRP bars and stirrups, are either overly conservative or unsafe, leading to wastefulness and increased costs. This project aims to develop more accurate formulas for calculating the shear capacity of such beams, addressing the need for sustainable, cost-effective infrastructure solutions and aligning with long-term development strategy.

Aim and objectives

The aim of this project is to clarify the suitability of FRP reinforcement for concrete structures and enable the development of more sustainable structural solutions by characterizing the shear behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP.

The objectives are to evaluate the morphology and development pattern of critical diagonal cracks, to develop a shear analysis model describing the evolution of various shear resistance mechanisms, to propose a method for calculating shear capacity that accounts for the properties of the FRP-concrete interface, to evaluate the sustainability and economic performance of FRP-reinforced concrete structures through LC A and LCCA, and to disseminate the acquired knowledge through public lectures, seminars, and workshops to promote its application and active interaction.

Facts

Financer: FORMAS and LTU.

Timeline: 01-2024 to 12-2027.

Principal Investigator: Chao Wang.

Team members: Gabriel Sas, Jaime Gonzalez-Libreros, Lennart Elfgren, Lei Yuan.

External collaborator: Zheng Huang.