Internal and External FRP Reinforcement of Civil Engineering Structures

Dear Colleagues,

Civil engineering structures will be facing huge challenges in the coming decades due to fast-changing constraints and environmental loads. In this context, it is necessary to improve the resilience of these infrastructures against extreme climatic events, to foster construction methods that allow more efficient use of raw materials and limit natural resource depletion, and to promote constructive solutions ensuring both low-maintenance costs and extended lifespan.

Since the late 1980ies, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites have gained growing interest in the field of civil engineering, either for the strengthening/rehabilitation of existing civil structures using externally bonded FRP sheets or plates (also referred to as EB-FRP method), or for the internal reinforcement of new concrete structures with FRP bars. The outstanding mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and light weight of these FRP materials are major assets that can contribute to addressing the future challenges of civil infrastructures.

This Special Issue (SI) aims at gathering some of the latest developments regarding the use of FRP in civil engineering applications and includes research studies conducted both at the material and structural scales.

The main topics covered by the SI are the following ones, but this list is not exhaustive:

• Development of new FRP materials, systems and strengthening techniques,
• Experimental and/or theoretical assessment of FRP-based techniques,
• Durability appraisal and long-term performance of FRP-based techniques (effects of environmental and mechanical factors, coupled effects),
• Non-destructive testing methods, monitoring and diagnosis of FRP elements and related adhesively bonded joints,
• Update of design codes, guidelines and standards (EB-FRP technique, and FRP reinforced concrete structures),
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of FRP solutions,
• Field case studies,
• Review papers.

Contributions on any other relevant topics related to FRPs in civil engineering are also welcome in this SI.

Dr. Sylvain Chataigner
Dr. Karim Benzarti
Dr. Marc Quiertant
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.