Pultruded Fibre reinforced polymer (PFRP) is becoming an attractive construction material for Civil Engineering applications due to its high stiffness, high strength to weight ratio, light weight, corrosion resistance and good durability. However, relatively low elastic modulus of FRP results in the design being governed by deflections and buckling rather than the strength. This problem can be overcome to some extent by filling the hollow PFRP sections with concrete. Of particular interest will be a hybrid beam constructed by bonding several hollow square PFRP sections and filling only some sections (preferably the top section) with concrete. However, ordinary Portland cement concrete has its own problems like environmental issues (high carbon foot print), chemical attack and durability. Research has shown that geopolymer concrete is an alternative to Portland cement concrete with added advantage of having low carbon foot print, good bond strength and excellent durability against chemical attack. in this project, structural behaviour of hybrid geopolymer concrete-FRP beams under different load conditions will be investigated. A validated numerical model will be developed to carry out parametric studies to predict the behaviour of hybrid beams with different dimensions.

Professor Karu Karunasena

• Professor Karu Karunasena

• Centre for Future Materials
• Institute for Agriculture and the Environment
• School of Engineering and Built Environment

• Civil Engineering
• Engineering Design
• Materials Engineering

• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)