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Glass-fibre reinforced plastic pipes are widely used to convey fluids for various purposes. They offer a number of distinct advantages over conventional metals, such as high specific strengths, high specific moduli, superior corrosion resistance and low coefficient of thermal expansion. However, their behaviour under lateral quasi-static and impact loading are still not well known. The research programme described in this thesis was designed to characterise the performance of 55° winding angle GRP pipes, subjected to lateral quasi-static and impact loading. Two approaches: experimental tests and finite element analysis, were used to investigate the behaviour of the GRP pipes. The experimental investigation was started with diametral compression of short GRP pipes to examine the structural behaviour and failure mechanisms. Subsequently, lateral indentation tests were conducted on rigid-foundation supported or simply supported specimens using two different indenter geometries: line-ended and flat-ended. Furthermore, low-velocity impact tests were performed under similar conditions as those for indentation tests in order to characterise the response of the GRP pipes and to identify the correlation between the two forms of loading. The pipes exhibited multi-mode failure mechanisms, resin cracks, delaminations and fibre breakage. It is found that delamination, which resulted in significant loss in stiffness and strength, was the most significant mode of failure for the GRP pipes. A good correlation in behaviour was identified between quasi-static indentation and its energy equivalent low-velocity impact when the global bending stiffness of the GRP specimens were high. Specimens with span S 10.5D i, where Di is the internal diameter of the pipe, are considered to have high bending stiffness, while simply supported specimens with S10.5D i have low bending stiffness. Irrespective of the support conditions and loading type, specimens with high bending stiffness followed a failure mechanism sequence: local resin failure, delamination and the fibre breakage. However, the large global bending experienced by low bending stiffness specimens resulted in a change of failure mechanism, only local damage and surface tensile cracks were observed.

Corrosion presents one of the greatest threats to the durability of reinforced concrete structures, yet it is also one of the least understood components of the design process for most engineers. The nation's infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating due to years of abuse and fatigue. Therefore, several economic and reliable solutions have been developed to repair the existing damage and extend the design life of structures at risk of corrosion. One popular method for protecting concrete structures from corrosion is the use of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite wraps. The premise is a simple one: placing an impermeable barrier around the surface of the concrete should prevent harmful substances such as chlorides from entering and corroding the imbedded reinforcing steel. However, little is known about the long-term effectiveness in preventing corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. The FRP wrap may in fact prevent the chlorides from passing through the concrete, however, the same principle might cause chlorides to be trapped beneath the surface and accelerate corrosion. In this study, the long-term behavior of laboratory specimens exposed to an aggressive chloride-rich environment were examined. This project was designed to develop a greater understanding of the long-term effects of FRP wrapping in preventing corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Although TxDOT project 0_1774 involves both rectangular and cylindrical specimens, the focus of this thesis is on the specific impact of FRP wraps on partially wrapped versus unwrapped columns. The specimens included in this study are comprised of a wide range of construction parameters. However, despite the multitude of varying mix designs a noticeable trend has emerged as a result of this research. / text

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lass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) structural profiles, in standard shapes and sizes are now being commercially manufactured by the process of pultrusion. GRP profiles are light weight, posses higher specific strengths and are more durable than the conventional metal or concrete counterparts. GRP pultruded profiles have open or closed cross-sections comprising thin composite walls of low elastic moduli. Stability failure has been identified as the main cause of failure for these profiles when subjected to compressive stresses, as it may occurs at stresses much lower than the ultimate strengths. Therefore, the load carrying capacities of composite compression members mainly depends upon stability criteria. The conventional stability analyses for the prediction of buckling loads are not considered adequate as the GRP material is orthotropic and its behaviour is different from steel (non-yielding). The existing guidance for the design of composite members under compression ignores the presence of geometrical imperfections inherited in the pultruded profiles, whilst, experimental evidence suggests considerable loss of stiffness due to the imperfections particularly in the intermediate column heights. The design guidance provided by the manufacturers gives empirical equations based on data obtained from experiments on specified profiles. A universal design curve based on the experimental results of concentrically loaded GRP columns has been developed and presented. However, conducting a vast experimental study is not always feasible. The need to develop a procedure, predicting failure load numerically for the development of a design curve for GRP columns has been recognised. Two GRP box-sections (closed square cross-sections) have been investigated for failure/buckling loads using experimental and numerical methods. In the experimental phase, specimen columns of various heights have been concentrically loaded in compression to measure the failure loads. Experimental results have been compared with the theoretical predictions made using classical methods and the equations given by the design manuals. Based on the experimental and analytical failure loads, an experimental design curve has been derived. In the numerical study, 3-dimensional full scale finite element models representing experimental configuration of the composite columns, have been analysed using both linear and nonlinear solutions. Imperfections of known amplitudes have been included parametrically to establish the sensitivity of the failure loads towards imperfections. Imperfect model have been calibrated for the estimation of imperfection amplitude present in the profiles using experimental data. Using the numerical and analytical data, a design curve has been derived establishing interaction coefficients for each profile. The numerical design curve is compared with the experimental design curve for the validation of the numerical procedure adopted in this study. Effects of perforations (circular holes) on the buckling stiffness of GRP box-section columns have also been investigated. Holes are drilled in the walls of profiles and tested experimentally to measure the loss in the buckling loads. Finite element models of columns with holes have been developed and analysed for buckling loads. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results are plotted. For use in the numerical representation of the composite columns, mechanical properties of the orthotropic GRP material of the both sections have been established analytically and experimentally. In-plane shear properties have been measured by physically testing standard sized coupons, extracted along the length of profiles. However, short coupons were available in the transverse directions due to dimensional constraints. Short coupons, similar in geometry to the standard coupon, but smaller in size, have been validated for performance using finite element analyses and comparing the outcomes with the models of standard coupons. Both standard and short coupons have been used for the experimental measurement of the in-plane shear properties. Compression properties have also been measured experimentally. Ultimate failure/buckling loads of the composite columns depend upon their heights, material properties, and the cross-sectional dimensions. These factors have been combined into one characteristic parameter 'λ', the slenderness ratio. As the later two factors are constant for a particular box-section profile, the ultimate loads depend upon column heights. Four types of failure modes; global, local, modal interaction and material failure have been observed. The loss in the buckling stiffness is minimal for smaller circular holes, provided the interval between holes is not less than 20 times the diameter of the holes. For bigger holes and an inter hole spacing of 10time the diameter, a loss of 30% have been measured. Finite element representation of pultruded columns adequately predicted the numerical failure loads and failure modes for most of the column heights.

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Masonry structures constitute a significant portion of building stock worldwide. Seismic performance of unreinforced masonry has been far from satisfactory. Masonry is purported to be a major source of hazard during earthquakes by reconnaissance surveys conducted aftermath of an earthquake. Reasons for the poor performance of masonry structures are more than one namely lack of deformational capacity, poor tensile strength & lack of earthquake resistance features coupled with poor quality control and large variation in strength of materials employed. Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composites have emerged as an efficient strengthening technique for reinforced concrete structures over the past two decades. Present thesis is focused towards analysing the behaviour of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) strengthened masonry under axial compression and in-plane shear loading. Determination of in-planes hear resistance of large masonry panels requires tremendous effort in terms of cost, labour and time. Masonry assemblages like prisms and triplets that represent the state of stress present in masonry walls and masonry in-fills when under the action of in-planes hear forces present an alternative option for research and analysis purposes. Hence, present research is focused towards analysing the performance of FRP strengthened masonry assemblages and unreinforced masonry assemblages. Chapter1 provides a brief review on the behaviour of masonry shear walls and masonry in-fills under the action of in-plane shear forces in addition to the performance of masonry structures during past earthquakes. Review of available literature on FRP confinement of masonry prisms with bed joints inclined from 00 to 900 to the loading axis under axial compression, analytical models available for FRP confined concrete, shear strength of masonry triplets attached with FRP is presented. Chapter 2 primarily focuses on determining the various properties of the materials involved in this research investigation. Test procedure and results of the tests conducted to determine the mechanical and related properties of the materials involved are presented. Elastic properties and stress-strain response of burnt clay brick, mortar and FRP laminates are presented. Studies conducted on behaviour of GFRP confined masonry prisms under monotonic axial compression are included in Chapter 3. The study comprised of testing masonry prisms, both unconfined and FRP confined masonry prisms under axial compression. Stretcher bond and English bond prisms, with bed joints normal and parallel to loading axis are included in this study. Two grades of GFRP,360g/m2 and 600 g/m2 are employed to confine masonry prisms. The experimental program involved masonry prism types that accounted for variations in masonry bonding pattern, bed joint inclination to the loading axis and grade of GFRP. Review of the available analytical models predicting compressive strength of FRP confined masonry prism is presented. Available models for FRP confinement of masonry are re-calibrated using the present experimental data generating new coefficients for the already existing model to develop new expression for predicting the compressive strength of FRP confined prisms. In addition to the prism types mentioned earlier, behaviour of unconfined and GFRP confined stretcher bond prisms with bed joints inclined at 300, 450 & 600 to the loading axis are further investigated. Chapter 4 primarily deals with the shear strength and deformational capacity of masonry triplets that represent joint shear failure in masonry. An experimental program involving masonry triplets attached with different types of FRP(GFRP and CFRP), grade of FRP, percentage area covered by FRP and reinforcement pattern is executed. This exercise determined the influence of these parameters over the enhancement achieved in terms of shear strength and ultimate displacement. Results of tests conducted on stretcher bond prisms presented in chapter 3 and results of tests on shear triplets presented in this chapter are combined to study the interaction between shear and normal stresses acting along the masonry bed joint at different angles of inclination. The thesis culminated with chapter 5 as concluding remarks highlighting the salient Information pertaining to the behaviour of FRP strengthened masonry under axial compression and in-plane shear loading obtained as an outcome of the research conducted as a part of this thesis.

The student inclusive Green Raven project of the KTH-Aero faculty requireda small blended wing model of their new flying wing design. The small scalemodel will be used for various flight tests. The goal of this specific project was tocreate an internal structure for the small scale model, including an outer shell.Two-dimensional drawings were created and tested in a simulation software.The model was then drawn in cad. Lastly the wing was strength tested inAnsys mechanical. The beams in the structure are made of Scots pine due toits accessibility and good strength to weight ratio. The outer shell is made outof fiberglass. A quick connection between the wing and the main body wasimplemented for easy transportation. All final testing indicate that the finaldesign had sufficient strength regarding the initial load requirements.