Determination of materials design values for the use of fibre-reinforced polymer composites in civil infrastructure

Abstract Fibre-reinforced polymer composites used in civil infrastructure are significantly different in material form and process than the autoclave cure prepreg-based composites used in the aerospace and defence sectors and hence lack the substantial well-established materials database required for routine civil engineering design. This paper provides recommendations for the development of an approach within an overall methodology of partial reduction factors expressed as Md = ϕMk, which enables design with emerging materials that may not have databases sufficient for statistical determination of materials design values. The approach is such that it enables its future incorporation into a load and resistance factor design (LRFD) methodology using techniques of statistical analysis and reliability theory. The method enables the use of reduction factors for the purposes of design while allowing for the derivation of routine design parameters based on either incomplete data records, or records of other comparable but intrinsically different systems. Examples are provided to illustrate the use of the methodology in specific cases, and results are compared with well-known empirical factors used in conventional handbook-based design.