DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
There are a number of authoritative consensus design guidelines for the designer to follow. Generally, the design methodology for FRP reinforced concrete members is similar to steel reinforced concrete members, but the designer must take into account the linear elastic or non-ductile nature of the material with a different safety factor. Care must be taken to avoid the possibility of a balance failure mode where compressive failure of the concrete and tensile failure of the bar could occur simultaneously. The designer must choose between compression failure of concrete, which is the preferred mode, and rupture of the FRP bar with a higher factor of safety. Due to the low modulus of elasticity of FRP bars, serviceability issues such as deflections and crack widths generally control design. The compressive strength of FRP bars is disregarded in design calculations. The designer should follow the recommendations in the appropriate consensus design guidelines. To aid the designer, who may not be familiar with these guidelines and standards, ATP maintains a staff of registered professional engineers to assist the designer in safely implementing our products.