RESEARCH TOPIC

Use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers in repairing and strengthening of

reinforced concrete structures.

BACKGROUND
In accordance with anything else in nature, living bodies, plants or trees,
buildings are getting old as well. The causes of their aging are all the
environmental actions that leave a print on the materials they are made of.
There are also other things causing buildings' aging such as: lack of maintenance
and other actions that extend the daily normal, such as landslides, floods, wind
and heavy earth-quakes.
If we are going to consider the buildings as part of our day-to-day life, where we
spend the largest part of our time, be it at work, having fun or staying with the
family, it is clear that everything surrounding us must be preserved for our
succesors to enjoy as well.
Advances in construction materials enable civil and structural engineers to
obtain important achievements in the functionality, safety and economy of
construction. Polymeric composites are materials that contain a continuous
polymeric matrix binding together and providing form to arrays of stronger and
stiffer reinforcing constituents. Composite materials developed for structural
applications provide attractive performance in other functional areas. These
materials have higher specific strength and higher specific stiffness than
traditional materials and can be tailored to meet specific demands, they exhibit
good resistance to fatigue, have excellent corrosion resistance, dimensional
stability and convenient electrical properties. Composite elements and structures
can be fabricated efficiently and they are cost-competitive in life-cycle
assessments.

AIMS
A realistic approach of the use of polymeric composites in civil engineering
applications requires also a critical evaluation of the material drawbacks, be they
concrete drawbacks leading to the need of strengthening or durability issues or
the FRP composites drawbacks which may render them as not the best solution
for the required job.
The aim of the project is to investigate these drawbacks and provide the best
solution given certain conditions, based on an in-depth analysis of material
properties, structural systems, functional requirement and financial matters. The
focus is set on reinforced concrete structures, which is the most common
material worldwide and fiber reinforced polymers as strengthening material.

METHODOLOGY
As an undergraduate student, I was provided with a fair amount of theoretical
and practical knowledge by studying advanced aspects about concrete,
regarding its mechanical properties during laboratory works, its advantages
making it one of the most versatile materials in the civil engineering industry, as
well as the conceiving of advanced monolith and precast structures while
analyzing the structural model and functional requirements in order to adopt the
best solution given the certain project conditions. Also, composite materials,
strengthening and seismic retrofitting of buildings were studied and appealed to
me, that is why in the near future I would like to improve my knowledge by
studying about long-term structural performance of both existing and next
generation concrete structures.
I intend to pursue a structured research project, consisting in both office work
and occasionally fieldwork, if necessary and/or available.
The research plan will be carried out in different stages, starting with the data
collection from different trustworthy sources (literature surveys, publicly
available official organization data or experimentally collected). In the process,
numerical interpretation software and testing equipment may be required,
strictly for the research project development. This stage may take up to 2
months. The production and modeling stage of the collected data will follow and
may take up to 4 months. The analysis and the testing of the modeled results will
take a significant amount of time, up to 6 months, as it may involve changes to
the previous stages in order to obtain better, more valid results. Fieldwork may
also take up to 1 month, in different stages of the project; can be useful for data
collection as in testing, or analyzing of the modeled results etc. The remaining
time will be used for thesis writing and submission.
The provided timeframe is based on personal scheduling feelings and may be
subject to changes in order to have a continuous working flow.

EXPECTED OUTCOME
Besides the academic audience involved, the civil engineering field is vital for
human development and it gathers together the economic, social and political
aspects. In addition, the strengthening and repairing of structures has an added
history value, as it might be crucial in preserving it. This is why I believe that my
proposed research project will provide valuable information for both people
involved in the field but also to the general public.
After fulfilling the project, I expect to be able to provide immediate solutions for
strength consolidation for problems that may arise during the occupancy stage
of the structure.
I intend to pursue your University research program because I consider that it is
the most suitable for me, taking into account my previous academic training and
maybe more important, my affinity to the specified domain of concrete

structures development. By doing so, both personal and career sense of

accomplishment will be achieved.
I believe that obtaining a Masters Degree will provide the necessary background
for me to anticipate and react to ever-changing environments. By doing this, it
will allow me to better understand civil engineering principles and contribute in
the transfer of knowledge and modern civil engineering theories to my country.