Life-cycle performance model for composites in construction

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have become popular in recent years both in the construction of new facilities and in the renewal of existing structures owing to their technical advantages and economic benefits over traditional materials. However, there is a concern in the civil engineering industry over the lack of information on the long-term durability and life-cycle performance of composite materials used for infrastructure applications. The model proposed in this paper predicts infrastructure deterioration based on the material degradation by considering the environmental exposure, operation conditions, material durability, and the effect of maintenance actions on the structure over time. The analytical framework is generic and can be used to model the life-cycle performance of different types of structures and is applicable to different material types and exposure conditions. It is proposed as being particularly suitable for composite applications in civil engineering for which historical performance data are not available. A complete description of the modeling framework is presented here along with a hypothetical example case to illustrate the procedure.