This workshop is a part of a collaborative research project between Michigan State University, USA, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani, Rajasthan India, organized under the aegis of Partnership 2020: US-India Higher Education Cooperation Grants.

In recent years, advent of advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP), and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) systems has provided solutions to the many problems related to deteriorating health of civil engineering infrastructures such as reduced strength, stiffness, and most importantly durability. Furthermore, development of natural fiber based composites has led to the cost effective as well as sustainability based design of FRP reinforced and/ or FRP strengthened concrete infrastructures. These advanced and natural fiber based composites have great potential for upgrading the strength, stiffness, and resilience of the structural systems in particular and civil engineering infrastructures in general. In addition, these composites have potential to be used in different formats having flexibility to be tailored to suit the cost effective and performance based material design such as development of functionally graded composites, sandwich composites, and hybrid composites to provide wide range of performance needed such as thermal and sound insulations, improved strength, stiffness, and resilience as well sustainability of structural systems.

Thus this one-day international workshop aims at presentations and deliberations on the development of innovative FRP materials using different types of fibers and polymeric systems/resins for structural applications. In addition, current design practice for using different kinds of FRP materials for improving strength, stiffness, durability, resilience and sustainability of structural systems will be discussed in detail. Furthermore emphasis will be placed on the use of agricultural waste based fibers for developing green composites for civil engineering infrastructures. Moreover, FRP material characteristics, manufacturing techniques, background and history of its use with its advantages and disadvantages along with design of retrofitting and rehabilitation of structures using FRP will be discussed. Therefore, researchers and the practicing engineers working in the broad field of design of civil infrastructures can significantly gain by keeping abreast of the latest trends and developments in the field of FRP materials for design of high performance structural systems.