The application of FRPs in civil infrastructure has increased, particularly in the last 20 years. FRPs have gained importance because of their resistance to harsh environments, high strength-to-weight ratio, and good corrosion resistance, and they are faster and easier to apply than other traditional methods. The rehabilitation of structures is the main area in which FRPs have been developed, because they have allowed for compliance with architectural restraints in historic structures. This review is a compilation of the research conducted on the laboratory and field applications of FRPs, highlighting the different applied methods, installation difficulties, and failure modes of FRPs. Moreover, this review compares studies on the types of fibers such as CFRPs, GFRPs, and AFRPs, and their effects would affect the mechanical properties of civil infrastructure and the durability characteristics of civil infrastructure in challenging environmental conditions. In addition, this review focuses on the modification of the mechanical properties of structural elements using different methods of installing FRPs, including externally bonded reinforcement (EBR), and their main problem: debonding failure before the ultimate load.

The present investigation determines the influence of abaca (Musa textilis) fiber inclusion on the simple compressive strength of reconstituted sandy silt specimens. For this purpose, fibers of different lengths (5, 10 and 15 mm) and quantities (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% of soil dry weight) are added to produce the reconstituted specimens. Subsequently, the physical and mechanical behavior of soil–fiber mixtures were evaluated through compaction and unconfined compression tests. The experimental results showed that increases in fiber content or length, or both, led to a 1235.1% increase in maximum compression stress (compared to the fiber-free soil). Compression failure occurred at a greater axial strain when 10 and 15 mm fibers were added at 1% dosage or in percentages equal to or greater than 1.5% regardless of fiber length. A series of linear mixed models identified statistically significant effects of fiber length and percentage on the level of effort and on the unitary deformation.