Masonry and Concrete Members Strengthened with Fibre-Reinforced Composite Materials: Research Advances (2nd Edition)
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 723
Special Issue Editor
Interests: external strengthening; structural rehabilitation; sustainable concrete; seismic vulnerability; composite materials; FRP-concrete bond; numerical analyses; laboratory testing
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) is being an increasingly attractive solution for the repair and external strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) and masonry structures thanks to several benefits, such as a high strength-to-weight ratio, good durability, and the possibility of being ad hoc engineered to meet the targeted structural requirements. Since the first applications in the 1990s, the number of theoretical and experimental studies has significantly increased worldwide through the years, leading to the publication of well-established international guidelines, such as ACI 440.2R and CNR-DT 200.
Recently, the fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) has been applied as a “green” alternative solution to FRP materials; it is particularly useful to overcome some drawbacks related to the use of epoxy matrices, such as the poor composite–substrate compatibility, the low permeability of the strengthened surface, and the difficulties in removing the FRP sheets without damaging the substrate. This last aspect represents an application limit for buildings recognized as culturally important, for which conservation and preservation are mandatory criteria and, therefore, structural engineers look for retrofitting techniques that reduce the invasiveness and, at the same time, assure a satisfactory level of reversibility (or at least removability). Despite the reduced amount of data and information available for the development of reliable design formulae, preliminary international guidelines for the strengthening of structural members with FRCMs are also now available, such as ACI 549.4R (for concrete applications), ACI 549.6R (for masonry applications), and CNR-DT 215.
In terms of advancing knowledge on the repair and strengthening of masonry and RC structures with FRP and FRCM materials, this Special Issue aims to provide the scientific community with a collection of high-quality and peer-reviewed papers addressing different aspects of the structural behavior, spanning from the material mechanical characterization to the analysis of material efficiency in several applications, such as (but not limited to) the flexural and/or shear strengthening, confinement, and strengthening of RC beam–column joints. Both experimental and theoretical investigations are welcome.
Dr. Annalisa Napoli
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)
- fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM)
- sustainable materials
- concrete structures
- masonry structures
- repairing
- external strengthening
- seismic retrofitting
- material characterization
- experimental investigation
- modeling
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