ACI – Webinar (August 21): NEx Webinar Series: Guidelines for Using FRP Dowels in Concrete Pavement

This webinar is jointly sponsored by NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials and the American Concrete Institute (ACI).

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) dowels are lightweight, noncorroding, and appear to be promising alternatives to conventional metal dowel bars. Much research on FRP dowel materials, design, and behavior has been conducted since the 1980s, including evaluation of the performance of several demonstration projects after 20 or more years of service. This research and long-term field experience have contributed to recent interest in the increased use of FRP dowels in highway pavements.

This webinar will describe current thinking concerning physical and mechanical requirements (material properties) for FRP dowels, and concepts for designing load transfer systems using FRP dowels to provide joint behavior and pavement performance similar to those of pavements with solid metal dowels. The construction and performance of selected FRP-dowelled pavement construction projects will be presented, and newer specifications for using FRP dowels will be described.