Utilization of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) in Both New Constructions and the Enhancement of Existing Structures

The most used construction material in today`s buildings is concrete, due to the fact that it is versatile, can be molded into various shapes and it has excellent compressive strength. On the contrary, concrete is a brittle material that has lower tensile strength and is also prone to cracking and fracture propagation within the material. This research paper presents an extensive review of earlier research conducted on the early evolution of FRPs, their behaviour under different conditions through conventional structural loading methods such as the 4-point loading and their application. Addition of small fibres that behave as anchors, preventing the widening of micro cracks, resulting in changes in structural behaviour of concrete under tensile loading, expansions during extreme temperature exposures and regular shrinkage cracks, are gained through the use of fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) acting in a relatively similar manner to conventional steel reinforcement. In addition to FRP sourced from small hair like fibres, it also comes in the form of wraps which aid in element confinement on beams and columns lending to not only compressive increase in strength of the element but also tensile load reduction, much like the behaviour that prestressing tendons have on prestressed concrete.