3. Innovation Challenges in Construction
• The construction industry is different to others
• Does all the industry want innovation?
– Commercial interests and rewards
– Risk appetite and consequence
– Who benefits?
• Highly regulated industry with low margins
• Proprietary products vs. Generic standards
• Development of awareness/knowledge in decision
makers (engineers)
• Extended and variable supply chains
4. Innovation……?
• First synthetic polymer developed in 1900s
• Glass fibre reinforced polymers used in 1940s
• First FRP bridge in early 1970s
• British Rail R&D and full-scale testing in 1980s on FRP
footbridges
• First FRP bridge in UK in early 1990s
• Thousands of FRP bridges now in use globally
• …..but still considered innovative in the construction
industry!
5. Fibre Reinforced Polymer Bridges - Jacobs
• FRP bridge R&D and design since 1990s
• Applications and publications to share innovation and
develop market
• Co-authored design guidance
• Multiple awards
• Composites UK member – Construction Sector Group
– On working group to develop updated UK design guidance and
promote composites in construction
6. Why Fibre Reinforced Polymer Bridges?
• Clients need durable, low maintenance structures
• Public don’t want disruption
• Lightweight
– 25% of concrete bridge, 50% of steel bridge
• Low maintenance
– No corrosion
• Quick and easy to install
• Can be cost effective when following factors important
– Minimum disruption
– Severe environment
– Difficult access
7. FRP Materials
• Comprise resin matrix and fibres
– Resin transfers stress between and
protects fibres
– Fibres provide strength and stiffness
• Reinforced concrete and timber are
also both composite materials
– RC; concrete matrix and steel ‘fibres’
– Timber; lignin matrix and cellulose ‘fibres’
9. FRP Material Properties
• Design basis
– Linear elastic materials (no reliance on plasticity)
– Deflection usually critical with large FoS on strength
– Greater design/analysis effort required (e.g. 3D FEA)
– Limited industry guidance (vs. >100 yrs for other
materials)
– Modularity?
• Chemical/environmental resistance
– Dependent on resin primarily
• Fire resistance
– Varied through resin choice and additives
• Greater design freedom
52. Future Developments & Opportunities
• Major projects
– Volume, repetition & modularity
• Updated UK Design Guide
– ~2017
• DuraComp 2 research project
– To enable a basis for durability and safety factors to be
developed (e.g. for Eurocode)
• FRP Eurocode
– 2020s?
• New generation of civil engineers with FRP
knowledge?
– University courses
