Wound FRP shear reinforcement for concrete structures

This paper describes current research at the University of Bath and the University of Miami that is, for the first time, aiming to completely replace internal steel reinforcement in concrete structures with knitted prefabricated cages made of highly durable fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement. The proposed manufacturing technique, based on the filament winding process, allows the reinforcement to be fabricated in a precisely calculated geometry with the aim of providing tensile strength exactly where it is needed. The resulting Wound FRP (W-FRP) cage designs capitalise on the extraordinary flexibility and lightness offered by FRP construction materials. This paper presents fundamental analytical and experimental studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of the wound reinforcement system and forms the basis of future efforts to develop fully automated manufacturing methods for concrete structures.