Consolidation of research and teaching on steel fibre concrete for a more sustainable built environment

• Grant number: 24/04017-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Structural Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Luís Antônio Guimarães Bitencourt Júnior
• Grantee: Luís Antônio Guimarães Bitencourt Júnior
• Visiting researcher: Joaquim Antonio Oliveira de Barros
• Visiting researcher institution: Universidade do Minho (UMinho), Portugal
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The proposal aims to host, from January to December 2025, at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, one of the foremost European experts in fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and its use as a structural material. This initiative seeks to enhance and consolidate knowledge in this field in São Paulo. Several research studies have been conducted in this area in recent years. With the recent publication of national standard codes NBR16935 and NBR16940, which establish material characterization and structural design procedures based on post-cracking parameters, there is an expected increase in the number of structural applications of FRC in Brazil in the coming years. This is mainly due to the recently announced investments in infrastructure by both state and national governments. Therefore, aligning the research knowledge generated during this period with international practical experiences, such as designing tunnel segments, beams, and elevated slabs using modern and reliable approaches, is essential. Additionally, it is necessary to develop teaching materials to update postgraduate courses and transfer knowledge to the civil construction industry. Leveraging the experience of the proponent and visiting researcher in this field, a plan of activities is proposed within the scope of the current research project entitled "Multiscale modeling of plain and steel fiber-reinforced concrete and its application to predicting the behavior of structural members" supported by FAPESP (Grant #2022/03179-0 - Initial Project PI). The plan of activities involves the following main tasks: (i) applying global resistance methods (GRM) to design FRC structural members; (ii) supporting graduate courses and preparing a book for publication by a reputable publisher with the tentative title: "Fibre Reinforced Concrete Structures: Testing, Design, and Advanced Modeling"; and (iii) conducting a blind simulation competition for SFRC under torsion. (AU)