Join Barzin Mobasher, PE, FACI, FRILEM, Arizona State University, on April 25, 2024, at 2:00 PM ET, for a webinar with NEU on "Low-Carbon Aspects of Alternative Reinforcement Systems: Fibers, Textiles, and Hybrid-based Design of Reinforcement."
Areas of research activity geared towards fiber-reinforced concrete materials that integrate concrete’s tensile properties in the structural design yield significant improvements in serviceability and efficiency. Alternative reinforcements such as fibers, textiles, and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) as well as hybrid designs tend to reduce the amount of rebars used by means of conventional design approaches and make a significant improvement in the overall load-carrying capacity while reducing the overall carbon footprints. New test methods are presented to validate the potential benefits by identifying the controlling mechanisms.
Several applications developed in the past five years are highlighted as case studies and showcase the significant cost savings, enhanced performance, and carbon emissions reduction. Structural design using fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC), textile-reinforced concrete, and ultra-high-performance concrete, (UHPC) are introduced as breakthroughs in the industry due to their mechanical performance and enhanced durability compared to conventional reinforced concrete. By correlating the ductility, crack width, stiffness degradation, and fatigue response with service loads, both material and structural design can be concurrently designed. Analytical closed-form solutions are introduced to simplify the design and analysis of reinforced concrete systems that are applicable to beams, slabs, retaining walls, and buried structures.
Projects conducted for the City of Phoenix, Valley Metro regional transportation system, Maricopa County Departments of Transportation, and Salt River Project, are used to show the benefits of using fiber-reinforced concrete materials, and UHPC for reduced carbon emissions. Structural materials with textile-reinforced concrete as well as applications in bridge design, shotcrete canal lining, precast tunnel segments, repair and retrofit, environmental structures, and precast tunnel lining are discussed in this presentation.