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Slender Frp Elements As Discrete Reinforcement For Concrete, Yuan Tian

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation presents a study that led to the development of slender elements that look like fibers used for reinforcing concrete but with a very different reinforcing mechanism. These elements, referred to as “Needles” are very rigid and strong; when intersected by growing cracks in concrete under heavy and increasing loads, they do not break and deform minimally. In the present work major steps were taken to understand the reinforcing mechanism of Needles. In addition, to investigate the influence of Needles on the mechanical performance of concrete incorporating Needles, at both material and structural levels, a series of laboratory experiments …