Exploitation of Moment Redistribution

This project addresses deficiencies in our fundamental understanding of how continuous reinforced concrete (RC) structures actually behave when they have been strengthened using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. Presently, we ignore any plasticity in such systems altogether, but this is potentially financially disastrous, overly conservative or, even worse, unsafe when considering how to best prolong the lifetime of existing RC structures. This proposal will deliver urgent structural-mechanics-based insight into how we might exploit redistribution of bending moments in FRP-strengthened continuous concrete structures such that our strengthening schemes are cost effective, safe and reliant on sound principles.