*Co-chairs of the subcommittee that prepared this document. Note: The committee acknowledges the contribution of associate member Paul Kelley. ACI encourages the development and appropriate use of new and emerging technologies through the publication of the Emerging Technology Series. This series presents information and recommendations based on available test data, technical reports, limited experience with field applications, and the opinions of committee members. The presented information and recommendations, and their basis, may be less fully developed and tested than those for more mature technologies. This report identifies areas in which information is believed to be less fully developed, and describes research needs. The professional using this document should understand the limitations of this document and exercise judgment as to the appropriate application of this emerging technology.

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Guide for the Design and Construction of Externally Bonded FRP Systems for Strengthening Concrete Structures

Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) or Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods have received much attention from researchers and practitioners in evaluating, assessing and ranking alternatives across diverse industries. Among numerous MCDA/MCDM methods developed to solve real-world decision problems, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) continues to work satisfactorily across different application areas. In this paper, we conduct a state-of-the-art literature survey to taxonomize the research on TOPSIS applications and methodologies. The classification scheme for this review contains 266 scholarly papers from 103 journals since the year 2000, separated into nine application areas: (1) Supply Chain Management and Logistics, (2) Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, (3) Business and Marketing Management, (4) Health, Safety and Environment Management, (5) Human Resources Management, (6) Energy Management, (7) Chemical Engineering, (8) Water Resources Management and (9) Other topics. Scholarly papers in the TOPSIS discipline are further interpreted based on (1) publication year, (2) publication journal, (3) authors' nationality and (4) other methods combined or compared with TOPSIS. We end our review paper with recommendations for future research in TOPSIS decision-making that is both forward-looking and practically oriented. This paper provides useful insights into the TOPSIS method and suggests a framework for future attempts in this area for academic researchers and practitioners.

Review: A state-of the-art survey of TOPSIS applications

A concise state-of-the-art survey of fiber-reinforced polymer (also known as fiber-reinforced plastic) composites for construction applications in civil engineering is presented. The paper is organized into separate sections on structural shapes, bridge decks, internal reinforcements, externally bonded reinforcements, and standards and codes. Each section includes a historical review, the current state of the art, and future challenges.

Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites for Construction—State-of-the-Art Review

A review of the present and future utilisation of FRP composites in the civil infrastructure with reference to their important in-service properties

Steel–concrete composite members are an interesting option for structural designers, but the reliability of design procedures both in the case of gravity and seismic loads is in continuous development. The issue is very complex, since behaviour of continuous composite beams results from local phenomena of interaction such as partial shear connection and bond. Furthermore, composite beams in buildings generally are not characterised by a full continuity due to the beam to column connections; thus the analysis and the detailing of such parts have a key role in the development of suitable design procedures. In the present paper, some computational aspects related to the modelling of composite flexural members are discussed with reference to continuous and semi-continuous structural systems widely used in practice.

Modelling of continuous steel-concrete composite beams: computational aspects

A simplified method for flexural capacity assessment of circular RC cross-sections

A unified approach to evaluate the behavior of composite structural elements is proposed consid- ering the interaction between the shear and normal stresses due to the connecting system. The model assumes linear behavior for the materials and connection and allows one to analyze different structural problems in the serviceability conditions. Numerical examples show that many classical coupled problems could be analyzed by a unified approach; in particular, the coupled shear walls subject to horizontal loads, steel-concrete composite beams with stud connectors, and reinforced beams strengthened with external plates are considered.

Edoardo Cosenza

Papers

Modelling of continuous steel-concrete composite beams: computational aspects

A simplified method for flexural capacity assessment of circular RC cross-sections

Shear and normal stresses interaction in coupled structural systems

Vulnerability of existing R.C. buildings under gravity loads: A simplified approach for non sway structures

Flexural strengthening of RC beams using emerging materials: ultimate behavior