Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Materials and Sustainable Structures

In this chapter, the fire resistance requirements for structural components incorporating bio-based fiber-reinforced polymer composites are presented. The factors that are to be accounted for in evaluating the performance of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) structural members at elevated temperatures are discussed. In addition, the various steps associated with evaluating the fire resistance, both experimental and numerical, are outlined. The application of a numerical procedure for evaluating the fire performance of a typical bio-based FRP-strengthened concrete beam is illustrated through a case study. It is shown that the fire resistance of the bio-based FRP-strengthened beam can be much lower than a similar concrete beam strengthened using conventional glass- or carbon-based FRP. Further, it is shown that the fire resistance of bio-based FRP-strengthened concrete members can be enhanced through the application of supplementary fire insulation.

The strength of interfacial bond between fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and concrete substrata influences the capacity of FRP-strengthened concrete structure both at ambient and fire conditions. Evaluation of bond strength is a challenging task at elevated temperatures and requires specialized test setup and a complex set of procedures. In this chapter an innovative test setup and procedure for evaluating the FRP-concrete interfacial bond strength at elevated temperature is proposed, wherein double lap shear tests are conducted on concrete blocks strengthened with FRP sheet. The applicability of the procedure is illustrated by testing the concrete prisms strengthened with carbon FRP sheet at four different temperature levels. The results from the test indicated that the bond strength decreases by 35% at temperatures close glass transition temperature of bonding adhesive.

Although fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials have found acceptance for use in civil infrastructure applications such as in reinforcement, in rehabilitation, and in new structural systems there are still concerns related to long-term durability in harsh and changing environmental conditions and after exposure to heat in the form of fire and elevated temperatures seen in some industrial applications. This paper presents examples of carbon-epoxy composites used in civil infrastructure. Results are discussed from both materials and applications perspectives addressing some long-standing myths and providing guidance for field use and design, emphasizing that if processed and used in appropriate fashion these materials can provide tremendous advantages with relatively low concern regarding degradation below threshold values used in design.

The paper discusses the procedure followed for the fabrication of fiber-reinforced polymer composite laminates from unidirectional glass and carbon fiber, using the classical hand-layup technique. The mechanical properties of these laminates were determined through a series of standard characterization tests, conducted on specimens drawn out in the form of coupons. To understand the material response, stress-vs.-strain curves till failure are plotted and analyzed. The test results showed that except for the longitudinal tensile strength and modulus, glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates possess better mechanical properties than carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. The obtained strength and stiffness properties can be utilized for the analysis and design of composite structural elements fabricated from such laminates.

Natural fibers, especially flax, jute and hemp fibers have gained more interest in the recent years due to their promising mechanical properties such as low cost, a high percentage of cellulose, easy availability and biodegradability. This research work aims to determine the elastic and strength properties of flax fiber-reinforced polymer (FFRP), jute fiber reinforced polymer (JFRP) and hemp fiber-reinforced polymer (HFRP) composites. These composites were fabricated by hand lay-up technique with the fiber volume fraction limited to 50%. The material characterization was performed by conducting tensile and compressive tests as per ASTM standards to evaluate the elastic and strength properties such as tensile strength, young’s modulus, compressive strength and shear modulus. The mercerization process is also considered to treat the surface of the fiber with NaOH solution to identify the effects on the mechanical properties of the composite. From the obtained results, it was observed that HFRP composites have better tensile and compressive strength, whereas FFRP composites have better stiffness. The mercerization process on the fiber's surface had mixed effects on the elastic and strength properties of the natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites.

In recent years, Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars have been used as reinforcement in concrete beams. However, the ductility of the beams is highly dependent on the properties of concrete since the failure mode of concrete is due to crushing. Substitution of concrete with Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) can avoid the ductility and durability problems associated with the concrete. In this paper, the flexural behaviour of FRP reinforced ECC-Concrete composite beams is numerically investigated through the Finite Element (FE) platform. To verify the robustness of the FE model of the composite beams, the simulation results were compared against the experimental results available in the literature and good agreements were achieved. An extensive parametric study was then conducted to examine the effect of the FRP reinforcement ratio against ECC layer thickness. It was observed that the load-carrying capacity of the composite beams is improved with the increase in ECC height replacement and Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) reinforcement ratios. In addition, composite beams show enhanced load-carrying capacity of 40% and 2%, of ECC layer thickness and FRP reinforcement ratio, respectively.

A composite material is made up of a chemically and/or physically unique phase spread inside a continuous phase that has qualities that are distinct from both of these materials. The high specific strength (stress/density) and modulus (stress/stiffness) of composites, as well as their low density (mass/volume), make them particularly appealing. Fibers of varied diameters are the most important component of composite materials. Since antiquity, fibres, in particular, have been employed to strengthen considerably weaker materials. The potential of such reinforcement for boosting the fabrication of composites of engineering significance has only lately been scientifically examined. The content in this chapter is devoted to a variety of fibres that are now generating a lot of attention among researchers and engineers due to their structural and functional benefits.

This article presents feasibility and performance evaluation of three types of sensors systems, namely conventional wired sensor, wireless monitoring sensor and fibre optic sensor systems, to perform long term structural health monitoring of infrastructures. The short-term evaluation of the sensor systems showed comparable data. However, while all three systems were capable to record long-term continuous data, the fibre-optic system performed better than the conventional wired and wireless sensor technology. The article further reports the introduction of a novel smart fibre-reinforced material with an embedded fibre optic sensor for long term structural health monitoring of structures.

Strengthening the reinforced concrete (RC) beams in buildings and bridges is often needed to improve flexural performance. The various reasons for strengthening are (i) defective design or construction, (ii) deterioration due to the extreme weather conditions, (iii) to carry the additional storage or vehicular loading requirements, (iv) updating to the new code requirements, and (v) seismic strengthening and retrofitting. The fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening is proven to be very practical and advantageous compared to conventional methods like concrete jacketing and steel jacketing. The available literature mainly focuses on the flexural strengthening of RC beams with external bonding (EB) of pultruded laminates and is limited to laboratory scale specimens. Understanding the flexural behaviour of large-scale specimens consisting of various strengthening configurations is essential. In this study, an experimental investigation is carried out by testing RC beams of 300 × 300 × 3500 mm size. The test matrix consists of RC control beam; three other beams strengthened with CFRP precured laminates (EB-L), CFRP fabric (EB-F) and hybrid FRP strengthening (HYB). The hybrid FRP strengthening is the combination of CFRP pre-cured laminates at the soffit and EB CFRP fabric in the overall length of the beam. All the FRP strengthened specimens had improved flexural strength. However, HYB FRP strengthening was found to be very effective in enhancing flexural strength and ductility compared to other strengthening techniques. In HYB strengthening, the EB confinement provided by the CFRP fabric improves the compression strength of the concrete at the compression zone and prevents the debonding of CFRP laminates at the tension zone.

Nature is the master source where we can locate several candidate materials for ecofriendly products. Natural fibres, cellulose nanofibres, cellulose nanocrystals and organic nano-silica are some examples only. Natural fibres being highly cellulosic exhibit attractive properties which can be effectively utilized to prepare ecofriendly and cost effective products which can replace many synthetic plastics. Utilization of biofibres will result in decreased emission, less wear to the processing tools, improve agricultural based economy and create rural jobs. The properties of these biomaterials vary much depending on the species, age, climate etc. of the plant source. Hence the reproducibility of the properties is less than the synthetic systems. Even though by sorting and giving appropriate treatments, can produce more reproducible result. The properties of natural fibres are dependent on the chemical composition of fibres. More cellulosic fibres exhibit excellent mechanical properties due to their more crystalline structure. The drawbacks of natural fibres like hygroscopic nature, lower mechanical performance etc. can be alleviated by hybridizing the same with other suitable biofibres or synthetic fibres. The interface properties of the composites can be improved by giving appropriate chemical and physical modifications. Strain compatibility is an important parameter in selecting hybrid fibres for reinforcement. It is reported earlier from our laboratory that hybridizing oil palm fibre with glass fibre in reinforcing phenol formaldehyde polymer resulted in very high improvement in properties of the system. As India a big producer of rice and wheat, we have much straw and rice husk unutilized in the paddy field which causes great environmental problems now a days. Presently it is used as cattle feed and as boiler fuel. Straw can be effectively utilized for reinforcement in cement for better properties. Both straw and rice husk are rich in silica content. It is possible to isolate organic nanosilica from these agricultural byproducts effectively. It can find enormous applications as a bionanomaterial in several systems. It is found to have many advantages as they exhibit antibacterial properties, self-cleaning etc. The cellulosic natural fibres, wood etc. are good source for extracting cellulose nanofibres and nanocrystals. As they are cent percent cellulosic they will superior in reinforcing polymer matrices giving excellent barrier properties and thermal stability to the systems. The macro natural fibres, cellulose nanofibres and other bionanomaterials like nano-silica can find versatile applications as structural materials and in packaging industry.

The plant based natural fibers (mostly made of cellulose, hemi cellulose, and lignin) provide several advantages over the traditional inorganic fibers including their low density, good thermal insulation and mechanical properties, reduced tool wear, unlimited availability, low price, and biodegradability. Hence the cellulose micro/nano fibers have evident potential to be utilized as environment friendly reinforcement in composites. Natural fibers reinforced with inorganic nanoparticles can further enhance the mechanical properties of the fiber and could be used as an alternative material to replace synthetic fibers. This short paper will discuss methods of the preparation, physio-chemical and mechanical properties of the nanoparticle reinforced natural fibre.

Currently, the demand for vibration damping, lightweight and environmentally friendly material is increasing in automotive and aerospace sectors. Due to this quest, the use of eco-friendly fibrous material has gained importance for its use as a reinforcement in polymeric matrix composite. Therefore, in this present investigation, woven jute fiber mats or layers were added to pure polyester resin to form various composite samples, using compression molding technique. Five different samples were fabricated: neat polyester resin plate and 2–5 woven jute/polyester composites, denoted as NPRP, 2WJPC, 3WJPC, 4WJPC and 5WJPC samples, respectively. The natural frequencies and viscoelastic behaviours of the various samples were examined by free vibration test. From the free vibration test, both natural frequencies and damping factors were obtained. From the results obtained, it was evident that 4WJPC sample exhibited the maximum natural frequencies of 32.96, 231.9 and 659.2 Hz under modes I, II and III, respectively. Also, the natural frequency of 4WJPC sample was 40% higher than that of NPRP. Therefore, it was evident that the addition of woven jute fiber mat has a significant and good influence on the composite natural frequency. Comparison between experimental and theoretical analysis was carried out and found closely related with each other. Applicably, woven jute fiber mat reinforced polyester composite can be used as a vibration absorbing material (damper), low cost and efficient engineering structure.

Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is a non-corrosive material. Recently, GFRP rebars have been introduced in the construction industry as a replacement for steel rebars in order to avoid the problem of corrosion in steel. In this research, 15 full-sized reinforced concrete (RC) beams have been casted using GFRP and steel both as longitudinal reinforcement material as well as stirrup material. The flexural performance of GFRP rebar RC beams has been compared with steel rebar RC beams. Some of the beams have been prepared without stirrups in order to study the significance of stirrups in resisting shear forces. It was found that RC beams with GFRP rebar as longitudinal reinforcement and steel as stirrup material were able to withstand the maximum load. The provision of steel stirrups improved the load-carrying capacity by more than 40%. The deflection of GFRP rebar RC beams was observed to be 4–5 times more as compared to conventional RC beams.

Geopolymers are novel binders and are sustainable alternatives for conventional Portland cement. Geopolymers have emerged as a phenomenon of exceptional interest for the construction industry due to their excellent mechanical properties and sustainability in the past few years. A significant factor in producing geopolymers is the selection of the precursors. In this study, electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) obtained as waste from the steel industry is used as the precursor, and the influence of fly ash (FA) on the properties of the developed geopolymer is investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) are used for material characterization and for analysing the microstructural development.

Functionally graded materials (FGM) have recently received extensive attention for their exceptional mechanical properties. This paper presents the nonlinear interaction of the guided waves with micro-crack in an FGM plate. For this purpose, a 2D finite element model of an FGM plate composed of ceramic and metal mixture is developed. The effective gradient of the properties is expressed by a continuous polynomial law as a function of the thickness. The simulation results showed that the generation of higher harmonics provides a sensitive means for micro-crack detection in FGM plates. Moreover, the amplitudes of the harmonics increase with the increase in micro-crack length.

This paper aims to present the effect of temperature on stiffness and the rate of deterioration of stiffness between steel fiber reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete columns that were exposed to a temperature range of 500 to 800C, and on attainment the specimens were cooled by water with a time delay of 60 min and 180 min correspondingly. The study was carried out on 16 column specimens of which 8 were made of steel fiber reinforced concrete and again of which 4 were water cooled after an 60 min post attainment of the desired temperature, while the remaining 4 were water cooled after 180 min post attainment of the desired temperature. The same allocation was made for the other set of 8 columns with an only difference of being made out of just reinforced concrete instead of steel fiber reinforced concrete. Both the sets were heated to temperatures of 500, 600, 700 and 800C and quenched in water completely for 3 min.

High amounts of microfines (particles less than 75 µm in size) are unavoidable in sand manufacturing. In addition, due to the manufacturing process and clayey soil strata in rocks, sometimes clay intermingles with manufactured sand (M-sand). Therefore, it is necessary to identify clay and non-clay microfines in M-sand. The present study uses a methylene blue value (MB-value) test for differentiating clay and non-clay particles. Furthermore, the current research examines the effect of clay and non-clay microfines on concrete workability, mechanical strength, and abrasion resistance. Results showed that the MB-value of M-sand is affected by the clay microfines but not by the non-clay sandstone microfines. Clay particles significantly decrease the workability of concrete. Microfines of clay improve the mechanical strength up to an MB-value of 6. Beyond that, a higher superplasticizer dose used to achieve workability deteriorates the strength. Abrasion resistance of concrete also decreases with increase in clay particles.

In this article, the strategy for evaluation of compressive strength of concrete from non-destructive and partially destructive testing on the existing structures or cubes is reviewed. It is essential for condition assessment and health monitoring of the existing structures to fulfil the requirements of periodic assessment, reviewing present structural health and condition of the structures. Among the non-destructive tests, ultrasonic pulse velocity (USPV) and rebound hammer (RHM) tests are normally used for qualitative assessment, whereas core test (semi-destructive) is used for quantitative strength assessment. Subsequently, the forms of correlation expression best suited for evaluation of compressive strength of concrete from USPV were ascertained from the correlation expressions of USPV and core strength from the literature. From the results, it was concluded that for the considered dataset, linear correlation model would be best suited for evaluation of concrete compressive strength from USPV. This study would be very useful as a reference for engineers engaged in condition assessment and re-evaluation exercises of existing concrete structures.

In the present study, a fifth order shear and normal deformation theory is extended for the bending analysis of laminated composite cylindrical shells. The effect of transverse normal and shear deformations is included to predict the displacement and stresses. The governing equations are derived using principle of virtual work, and solved by using Navier’s technique. The accuracy and efficacy of the present theory is checked by comparing the present results with those available in the literature.

In this study, a concrete cube was created by partially replacing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with Nano Materials such as Multi-walled Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNTs), Titanium Di Oxide (TiO2), and Copper Oxide (CuO) at various percentages. MWCNTs were replaced by OPC by 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.075%, TiO2 by 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 percent, and CuO by 0.5, 1, 1.2, 1.5, and 2%. Using Nano Materials gives more compressive strength than normal concrete cubes, and MWCNT outperforms TiO₂ and CuO. Simply to reduce cement usage Fly ash was used while the compressive strength and amount of Nano Materials remained constant. As much as 39% Ordinary Portland Cement can be replaced with up to 35% MWCNTs and Fly Ash, 35% TiO₂ and Fly Ash, and up to 34% CuO and Fly Ash. According to the cost analysis, TiO₂ with Fly Ash costs 26.77Rs to prepare a single cube with a maximum replacement of 35% of OPC, while MWCNTs and CuO with Fly Ash cost 146.86 and 42.51Rs to prepare a single concrete cube with a maximum replacement of 39 and 34%, respectively, and normal OPC concrete cubes require 27.98 Rs. In OPC concrete, almost TiO2 cube preparation took a 10% reduction when compared to Normal Concrete cube. In this work, the carbon score was calculated, and the maximum carbon emission reduction up to By replacing cement with MWCNTs and Fly Ash, OPC concrete cube can be reduced by 35%. As a result, we concluded that TiO2 with Fly Ash Nano Material concrete is the most cost-effective when compared to MWCNTs and CuO with Fly Ash. When compared to TiO₂ and CuO with Fly Ash, MWCNTs with Fly Ash provide the greatest replacement and carbon emission reduction.

Today with the rapidly increasing population and their housing demand, the whole world has been victimized by critical consequences of global warming and climate change. From simple to complex construction, materials being used not only consume massive energy and resources during their life cycle but also deteriorate the environment, releasing an enormous amount of dust, solid waste, and harmful gases. With an intention to provide an immediate solution in the form of sustainable alternative materials, compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB) is chosen in this study where in CSEB basic material used is soil. The performance of Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) and Sugarcane Baggase Ash (SBA) used in CSEB is checked on the basis of density, water absorption and compressive strength. Specimens of size 190 mm × 90 mm × 90 mm were cast with 8% of cement in addition to the earth along with the addition of GGBS and SBA with varying percentages of 5, 10 and 15% each. The results showed that the CSEB blocks made by using GGBS or SBA have good strength characteristics as compared to conventional bricks. CSEB blocks made by using GGBS show higher strength as compared to SBA.

Repair and rehabilitation of fire damaged buildings is a popular topic due to the growth in large building fires. This is a specialized field that calls for expertise in a variety of areas such as concrete technology,, structural analysis and repair materials. The whole method for restoring a fire damaged house is thoroughly examined in this study report. Warming the steel reinforcement bars to temperatures of 100, 300, 600, and 900 °C for six samples permitted to acknowledge how fire affected the bars. The heated specimens were rapidly cooled by chilling in the air and, in most cases, quenching in water. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to look at grain size and structure at the microscopic level, while Universal testing machine (UTM) is being used to look at changes in mechanical qualities. When cooled under normal conditions, the temperature has little to no impact on flexibility. By heating the reinforcing bars, the mechanical properties may be altered without affecting the chemical components.

Graphene oxide (GO) has been recognized as one of the most potential nanomaterial for reinforcement in cementitious composites due to its extraordinary properties. In the present investigation, the static and dynamic mechanical characteristics of GO and fly ash based concrete (FA-GO-Concrete) have been studied experimentally. The static characteristics have been determined by conducting a compressive strength test and dynamic properties such as fundamental natural frequencies and damping ratios of FA-GO-Concrete beams in free-free conditions were measured using the impact hammer technique. In this paper, the influence of GO addition at 0.15% and variation of fly ash content at 0, 10, 20 and 30% as a replacement of cement was studied. The experimental findings showed that the addition of GO and replacement of fly ash increased the compressive strength and fundamental natural frequencies, whereas reduced the damping ratio of FA-GO-concrete compared to the control concrete. The damping ratios of FA-GO-Concrete increased with fly ash content increment, while the fundamental natural frequencies were reduced with fly ash content increment with respect to the GO-Concrete. The static and dynamic elasticity modulus of FA-GO-Concrete were also determined. It has been found that the desired dynamic properties can be achieved by adding GO and partially replacing the cement with fly ash.

There are various beneficial aspects of coal ash, especially when used in cement and concrete. Coal ash is a waste or pollutant from thermal power industries which is classified as pond ash, bottom ash, and fly ash. With climate change and its consequences no longer a myth, our paper reports the various studies that have been conducted to examine the advantageous effects of Fly ash utilization as an additive in cement, admixture in concrete and partial replacement of cement in concrete.

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) gained attractive properties due to its lowering production temperature and also added benefits in reducing the gas emissions in the environment as compared to that of hot mix asphalt (HMA). This article presents the usage of brickdust (BD) in the preparation of Warm mix asphalt (WMA) by wax-based technology. The effect of brick dust filler was varied from 25 to 100% replacement by the weight of the natural stone dust (NSD) filler. Cylindrical specimens were prepared using Marshall mix design and dense bituminous macadam (DBM) gradation was adopted by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth-5 revision) guidelines. Prepared specimens were exposed to Marshall Stability, volumetric properties, and indirect tensile strength (ITS) test. The results showed improved performance with the addition of brick dust into mixes. Stability and ITS were increased from 25 to 75% stone dust replacement and a decrease in strength is observed with 100% replacement. The optimum brick dust content in the warm mix was found at 75% replacement of stone dust by gaining maximum stability and tensile strength.

This study proposes intelligent machine learning (ML)-based methods for concrete compressive strength prediction by utilizing a publicly available dataset. The methods employed are the XGBoost, CatBoost and TabNet algorithms. A total of 1030 data points are collected wherein the independent input variables are the amounts of the different components of the concrete mix design and the output variable is the compressive strength at different curing ages. The proposed boosting algorithm approaches are contrasted with a few other popular ML techniques used in this field, such as logistic regression, classification and regression tree, and artificial neural networks. It is found that XGBoost and CatBoost show significantly lower mean errors between predicted values and actual observations of the compressive strength than the contemporary architectures, while TabNet is not so efficient. TabNet’s lower efficiency of prediction can be attributed to the relatively small dataset that was used for this study.

Structures get distressed or health of the structures gets deteriorated with the time. Also demand on the structures may increase with the time. Good examples to mention are moving loads on the bridges, seismic loads on the structure etc. To take care of these aspects, structures have to be revisited frequently and assessed for its strength and serviceability status. If these requirements are not met, the structure needs to be rehabilitated to meet the initial design intent and retrofitted if the load demand increases. Conventionally after proper repair, steel jacketing, concrete jacketing, bracing etc. are adopted to rehabilitate and retrofit the structure. However, recently Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) is taking the lead materials for rehabilitation and retrofitting of structures especially Reinforced Concrete structures. Along with fundamental procedure of FRP rehabilitation and retrofitting, details of testing as built and rehabilitated/ retrofitted structure are discussed in this paper. Importance of key parameters such as setting time, anchoring, workmanship etc. to achieve the target strength and ductility are also discussed. Brief explanation on modelling and analysis of tested as built and retrofitted structure is provided.

Conventional structural materials are being replaced by advanced composite materials owing to their superior mechanical properties. Basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) is the latest fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material introduced as reinforcement and pre-stressing tendons for reinforced concrete (RC) and pre-stressed concrete (PSC) structures. On the other hand, with the increasing demand on flyovers and bridges in city spaces, planning and design must address faster constructions of aesthetically appealing slender bridges, which are making joint-less, i.e., integral bridges popular. Therefore, beginning from designing the components required for the use of the BFRP in pre-stressing operations to establishing design procedure of the BFRP-PSC members of integral bridges are required. Evaluating mechanical properties of the BFRP rods/ tendons is challenging using the existing mechanical testing methods due to their relatively lower transverse direction strength. This creates issues not only in characterization of the BFRP in laboratory conditions but also on-field pre-stressing application in integral bridges. Hence, development of a proper anchor with optimum size for the BFRP rods is crucial. Hence, expansive cement grout-based anchor is developed, tested, and assessed, by studying the parameters affecting the gripping behavior and optimizing the anchor design based on the finite element (FE) analysis. Then again, understanding of the thermo-mechanical behavior of the BFRP composites is needed for practical and cost-effective applications in integral bridges, experiencing thermal stresses throughout their service-life. Characterization and assessment of performance of the BFRP rods at elevated temperatures is investigated through extensive experimental and analytical studies. Consequently, a semi-empirical constitutive law for predicting the thermo-mechanical behavior of FRP composites is proposed and validated with experimental results. The proposed model is original, generic, and flexible, and is based on typical characteristics of the composite, eliminating the requirement for conducting the tension test at elevated temperatures. Experimental investigations are carried out to assess the flexural performance of the BFRP-pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beams designed as over-reinforced, under-reinforced, and significantly under-reinforced, as well as the non-pre-stressed concrete beams, for developing design philosophy for the BFRP-reinforced/ pre-stressed concrete members. The assessment is made based on the flexural strength, serviceability satisfaction, safety factor against failure, and deformability/ ductility. The efficacy of the partial pre-stressing of the beams in a multi-layered system of tendons is investigated, and an alternative source of ductility is introduced by allowing the tendons to rupture sequentially in a progressive manner. Furthermore, the flexural analysis of the tested beams is carried out based on the available code provisions for complimenting the experimental findings. Ductility evaluation of concrete beams pre-stressed with the FRP tendons is conducted, wherein the effect of the partial pre-stressing, layering of the tendons, addition of sacrificial rebars, and functionally-graded concrete (FGC) is elaborated. The finite element analysis (FEA) testified the efficacy of the introduced techniques in improving the ductility of the FRP-pre-stressed members. To investigate on the efficacy of using the BFRP pre-stressing tendons in integral bridges, the BFRP tendons are used for the design of conventional and integral bridges, and a comparative assessment is carried out with steel-pre-stressed conventional bridges. It is concluded that employing both the techniques of using the non-corroding BFRP tendons and the proposed integral form of bridges is a promising technology in bridge construction. Apart from that, the natural fiber composites, being cost effective and environment-friendly, are investigated for possible use in post-tensioning of RC beams. The successful utilization of such natural fibers in structural applications may result in more sustainability in construction industry.