The main challenges facing our generation are sustainability, climate change, and carbon-footprint reduction. Considering that within the next 30 years, the population of the earth will reach the 10 billion mark, future generations will have to deal with two main problems of curbing consumption and resource management. These topics dominate the central themes of scientific efforts in so many disciplines, and as materials, mechanics, and structural engineers, we are obligated to address them with scientifically viable solutions. These areas should remain the focal point of our professional contributions.  

The first International Workshop on Advanced in Fiber Reinforced Concrete was held in Bergamo, Italy, in 2004, with the intention of developing structural design methodologies for fiber-reinforced concrete design. This workshop was attended by about 20 researchers and was followed by an increasing number of participants at the second and third workshops in 2014 and 2018 in Montreal, Canada, and Lake Garda, Italy, respectively.

We are now witnessing considerable progress made worldwide in using FRC in structural applications, introduced in design codes and guidelines. To increase technical exchanges, members of three organizations: ACI, fib, and RILEM, have all been supportive of this cross-disciplinary effort or materials, mechanics, and Structural Engineering allowing us to proceed with another International Workshop on Fiber Reinforced Concrete: from Design to Structural Applications, and the city of Tempe, Arizona, and the campus of Arizona State University were selected to host this event.

This workshop aims to provide State-of-the-Art on the recent worldwide progress that has been made in terms of specifications, structural design, and real applications of FRC structures. Many members of ACI, fib, and RILEM associations have been involved in code writing and validating the design of FRC structural members. We believe that we have reached a threshold to extend the use of FRC into many broader areas of structural applications. The topics have been carefully selected to address various design guides, and experiences with fiber-reinforced concrete including mixtures, production, analysis and design, and case studies of using FRC materials. Presentations of Case Studies will focus both on structural design and the description of applications. Workshop presentations are scheduled by leading researchers and practitioners in the area. Several sessions are led by invited speakers who are internationally known innovators in the area.

Aim and scope

After more than fifty years of research dedicated to the unique material properties, the last two decades have focused on introducing Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) to several building codes as a structural material; this has allowed an increasing use among practitioners in tunnel linings, elevated slabs, precast elements, and other structures. The new prospects for the use of FRC include primary reinforcement or hybrid form with rebars or welded mesh. Additionally in areas where sustainability, serviceability, maximum crack width, member size reduction, and stiffness are of concern, tailoring the FRC with enhanced mechanical properties is a suitable solution for new or repair of existing structures, thus extending the service life.

The focus area was first addressed in 2004 in Bergamo (Italy), and then held nearly once every four years with the second workshop in 2014, (Montreal, Canada), and 2018 in (Desenzano, Italy). The aim is to provide State-of-the-Art on the recent worldwide developments in structural applications of FRC.

Presentations of case studies will focus both on structural design and on the description of applications such as beams, columns, ductility-based design, elevated floors, tunnel linings, foundations, industrial slabs, precast elements, bridges, and other applications. Special attention will be also devoted to the development of structural codes as well as to the durability of FRC structures by considering the significant reduction of crack-opening provided by fiber reinforcement.

This workshop will attempt to bring various sectors of the research community and industry together so that significant cross-fertilization of ideas can occur, new concepts can be developed and new structural applications of FRC explored.