CHAPTER 9
 CONCLUDING REMARKS AND FUTURE REASERCH

 Dissertation Summary

 Corrosion of prestressing steel in precast concrete is a significant problem for

coastal bridges in Florida which results in higher maintenance costs due to the adoption

of protective measures for the prestressing steel. Even if repair and protective measures

are employed to extend the life of the structure, they are costly, time consuming and

rarely add significantly to the service life.

 It was suggested that carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement can

provide a viable replacement option if the focus of improving member ductility was

concentrated on the concrete, rather than the CFRP, through confinement that delays

degradation of the compression zone at capacity, resulting in a more ductile response.

 The objective of this dissertation was to develop methods by which CFRP grid can

be used to confine concrete and to develop a model that will predict the behavior of

concrete confined by this grid. These objectives were accomplished through a series of

tasks.

 First, concrete cylinders with embedded grid were constructed and tested in

compression to experimentally obtain the behavior of concrete confined by the grid. A

new approach in explaining concrete failure using buckling was offered. A new

confinement model was developed based on concrete buckling failure mechanics that

predicts the behavior of CFRP grid confined concrete. The experimental data from the

cylinders was used to validate the developed confinement model.