Structural upgrade of golden gateway building using advanced composites

摘要

As the use of fiber reinforced- polymeric (FRP) Composites as a external reinforcement to strengthen and retrofit structural concrete/masonry elements is rapidly increasing, understanding the quality control issues on the job sites is essential. The reason is to insure that the installed FRP system behavior meets the structural engineer expectation. This paper discusses the construction and quality control issues that relate to a seismic repair application of polymer composites in Northern California. In this project, SCCI Carbon/epoxy composite laminates were applied to one side of shear walls in two 25-story buildings. In this case, the composite strengthening approach was more attractive to the owner because it was less disruptive to tenants and much more economical than the conventional technique of adding concrete and steel to the structural system. This paper will discuss the wet-lay-up process and the critical quality control factors that will determine the success in transferring design properties to the structure. These factors include: 1) Material design properties (i.e. fabric & resin), 2) Field conditions, 3) Mixing techniques, 4) Contractor qualification/workmanship.