Grants and Contracts Details
Description
For the past three decades, the majority of the construction funds expended in the United States and the Western World are for the retrofit and upgrade of existing structures.
There are a number of repair and strengthening techniques available today. The majority of these techniques have been used by the PI for retrofitting a number of bridges in Kentucky and one bridge in Russia. Every technique has its advantages and limitations. For applications where the structural member to be retrofitted is not easily reached from the ground (e.g. tall bridges, bridges over water or valleys, etc., similar to the one in Figure 1), these techniques require extensive man hours and construction equipment leading to costly repairs. The primary disadvantage of these existing techniques is the application of a continuous product [e.g., carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate, etc.] to the structural member using polymer resin. Once the two-part resin is mixed, its shelf life is generally less than one hour. Consequently, more than one worker and a number of construction equipment (e.g., lift platforms, lift buckets, etc.) are required for the application of the laminates. Based on the PI's experience with retrofitting or strengthening a number of bridges using high performance materials (e.g., CFRP laminates, CFRP fabric, high strength steel fabric, etc.), the cost per worker per day, including equipment cost, is approximately $1,000. Consequently, a reduction in the number of workers and work days will reduce the repair cost.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 1/1/10 → 12/31/13 |
Funding
- KY Science and Technology Co Inc: $75,000.00
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