Use of composites for 21st century civil infrastructure

Due to their light weight, high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios, and potentially high resistance to environmental degradation, resulting in lower life-cycle costs, polymer composites are increasingly being considered for use in civil infrastructure applications ranging from the retrofit and rehabilitation of buildings and bridges to the construction of new structural systems. This paper outlines the need for such materials, describing a variety of applications ranging from seismic retrofit of columns to the fabrication of new light-weight bridge decks for renewal. Aspects related to the development of novel hybrid bridge structural systems are described that would lead to a new genre of bridge structures that efficiently combine functionality and aesthetics in a way previously not possible with conventional materials. Challenges and recent developments related to materials and processing methods, as well as issues related to life-time durability related to this cost-sensitive environment are discussed, and it is shown that solutions derived for this area will provide significant advances in other application areas. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.