Structural use of composite materials

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Date
2020-10
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Publisher
The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
The construction world is changing daily. Research on new materials that can be used to replace traditional ones has been aggressive. The fibre-reinforced polymer is one of the new technologies that has been adopted in the market. Fibre-reinforced polymers are composed of more than two materials bonded together. FRPs have widely been used in the industry, such as bridge construction, counterparts, buildings construction and among other vital uses. FRP materials have superior properties that make them more pronounced in the field of construction. Some of the known advantages that make these materials quite important include strong bonding. The most important advantage of fibre composite material is the fact that they have high strength properties. There are various types of FRP materials; the type variety is dependent on the arrangement of the fibres. The direction of bonding includes multidirectional, bidirectional, random mat, and woven type. The most important one is the multidirectional one that offers high strength. This research aims to conduct extensive research on the application and the usage of FRP material in the construction industry. Among the methods that have been exploited in this study include pultrusion, which is the most popular process used in the industry. The materials used in the manufacturing process include reinforcing fibres and fibre fabrics. Fibre composite materials have several advantages and disadvantages. However, the advantages are the most exploited part, which is why they have been adopted in the industry. Various case studies have been explored in the research to verify how much the FRP has been used globally. One of the cases is the use of GFRP in Netherlands. The case study that has been considered in this research is the 22 m bridge that was constructed in Bronlibelle. The bridge was built using GRPR, and various standards were used in the design process. The measures that were used for this case include CUR96, EN991, and EN990. Among the details that have been discussed in this study is the contractor and the challenges they met while constructing the bridge. Other composite materials such as Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) have been discussed in detail. The details given light in this study include composition, uses, and advantages that these materials can have compared to others used in the construction industry. The research has established that most of the advantages and disadvantages are the same for fibre material. The research used secondary sources of data that have already been done elsewhere to develop the final judgment. The research shall use case studies that have already been done. To use the material for construction, it is essential to consider the economic part of it. In this study, the economy involved when using this material has been discussed. This research established that the FRP materials are among the best since they are economical. The research demonstrated that carbon fibre cost is lower as long as production is high. Among the costs that have so far been discussed in this study include material cost, process material cost, the energy needed for the production process, labor cost, capital, and other costs. Therefore, the research shall help the reader with alternative construction materials.
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Keywords
construction world, fibre-reinforced polymers, bridge construction, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP), construction industry, construction materials
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