Analysis and design of earthquake resistant FRP reinforced concrete buildings

The use of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) as construction materials is gaining acceptance in the construction industry. The primary reason for this increase is the superior performance of FRP reinforcement in corrosive environments, its long term durability, high tensile strength-to-weight ratio, electromagnetic neutrality and resistance to chemical attacks.;The scope of the research program includes six tasks; (i) the development of a computer program (SEQUAKE) for static and dynamic inelastic response history analysis of FRP and steel reinforced concrete structures, incorporating hysteretic behaviour of steel and FRP reinforced concrete elements, (ii) selection and design of concrete frame buildings with different heights, located in Eastern and Western Canada, reinforced with FRP and steel rebars, (iii) nonlinear dynamic analyses of selected buildings under synthetically generated earthquake records, compatible with the Uniform Hazard Spectra specified in the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC-2005), (iv) review and assessment of analyses results to establish seismic force and deformation demands for FRP reinforced concrete buildings in Canada, (v) review of available experimental data to establish inelastic force and deformation capacities of FRP reinforced concrete frame elements, and (vi) development of seismic design guidelines for FRP reinforced concrete frame buildings in Canada.;The analysis results indicate that inelastic drift demands of FRP reinforced concrete frame buildings are similar to those observed in comparable steel reinforced concrete buildings. It is also determined that FRP reinforced concrete element should be designed to be over-reinforced to prevent tension failure of reinforcement. Inelasticity in these buildings can be achieved through the confinement of compression concrete by properly designed FRP transverse reinforcement. These findings led to a design procedure that allows a reduction in elastic design force levels. It was also established that the seismic design forces specified in NBCC 2005 for steel reinforced concrete frame buildings can be used to design FRP reinforced concrete frame buildings with appropriate modifications as explained in this thesis. Both the new computer program and the design procedure developed provide much needed tools to expand the use of internally placed FRP reinforcement in seismically active regions.;The use of FRP bars as concrete reinforcement is relatively new, with very few applications in practice, although externally applied FRP sheets, strips and bars for rehabilitation and seismic retrofit purposes is not uncommon. There is lack of research in performance and design of new FRP reinforced concrete structures; particularly for seismically active regions. The use of FRP bars as reinforcement is a new concept with limited experimental and analytical information. Indeed, FRP reinforced concrete structures may be lacking the required ductility for which the majority of conventional steel reinforced concrete structures are designed so that they can dissipate seismic induced energy in the event of a strong earthquake. Because of these shortcomings, the current codes and standards, including the CSA S608-02 (2002), ISIS Manual (2001) and ACI 440 (2006), have severe limitations for structural use of internally placed FRP reinforcement, especially for seismically active regions. Therefore, the objective of the current investigation was selected to establish seismic force and deformation demands for FRP reinforced concrete buildings in Canada and to develop a design procedure for earthquake resistant FRP reinforced buildings.