CEE Seminar: Design Guidelines for Prestressed Concrete Girders Using CFRP Materials

Abstract: Advanced composite materials called Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) are increasingly manifesting their presence in the civil engineering construction market due to their superior material properties compared to conventional construction materials. Their lightweight, high-tensile strength, resistance to corrosion and easy formability and handling make them a noteworthy alternative to other materials. FRP systems have emerged as one of the most promising and widely accepted methods for new construction as well as for strengthening and retrofitting of existing concrete structures. The acceptance and utilization of such design techniques depends on the availability of reliable design guidelines. Considerable effort has been spent within the last three decades to develop and verify design procedures for FRP as both internal reinforcement and external strengthening material for concrete structures. In this presentation, design methods developed for prestressed concrete applications in highway structures will be presented.

Bio: Belarbi is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering. He is actively engaged in a broad spectrum of structural engineering research areas, primarily constitutive modeling, and analytical and experimental investigation of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. His research has also focused on seismic and wind structural performance of building envelopes, as well as smart structures and use of FRP composites with focus on the development of advanced materials and use of FRP for rehabilitation and strengthening of aging and deteriorated civil engineering infrastructure. Belarbi has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous research projects with a research expenditure of over $15 million, has published over 220 technical papers and has supervised over 50 MSCE theses and Ph.D. dissertations. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the Structural Engineering Institute. Belarbi is also very active (member and/or chair) on several technical, educational and national committees within ACI, PCI, ASCE, ASTM, and TRB.