Engineering design resources

Specifying pultruded FRP is not the same as specifying steel or aluminum. The material is highly anisotropic (longitudinal modulus can be 4–6× the transverse), so the connection detail, not the cross-section, often decides whether a structure performs. The guidance is written by F1 Composite's engineering team and reviewed against field problems our engineers have investigated. It assumes a structural engineer or fabricator who knows steel or aluminum and is approaching FRP for the first or second time.

Connection design covers bolted, bonded and hybrid joints with minimum edge distances (3d for through-bolts, 4d for blind fasteners), bearing strength factors per fiber direction, and when to bond as well as bolt (for fatigue-loaded joints; mostly static joints do not need it). Load tables give allowable loads (deflection-limited at L/180, L/240 and L/360) and ultimate capacity for the standard wide-flange beams, channels, angles, square and round tubes and flat bars. Corrosion-zone specification language provides clauses to drop into chemical-plant specifications.

FRP-to-steel galvanic isolation covers isolation washer types, sleeve specifications and acceptance criteria: most “FRP corrosion” complaints trace to a galvanic path through an unprotected steel fastener, not to the FRP. Fenestration engineering for AS 2047 (Australia) and PHI (Passive House) is the working document behind the Yancheng talent apartment and Qinling Station deliveries: frame composition, transverse reinforcement, thermal-break detail, glazing rebate, and air, water and wind test procedures.

Solar mounting profile design covers wind uplift load paths, expansion joint spacing for racks over 12 m, UV-stable resin selection and AS/NZS 1170 wind loading. Bridge deck connection covers bonded panel-to-panel splice plates, mechanical lap splices and the moisture-management detail at the deck-to-girder interface.