STRONGWELL CORPORATION, a pultruder of composite structural products, has published a free engineering design software for its carbon and glass fibre composite concrete structural rehabilitation product, SAFSTRIP®.
The software, which can be found at www.strongwell.com, is a service for structural engineers to determine whether SAFSTRIP is suitable for the rehabilitation of deteriorated concrete structures.
SAFSTRIP strengthening strips are attached to concrete structures using the mechanically fastened fibre reinforced polymer (MF-FRP) process, which means mechanical fasteners are used rather than adhesives to secure the strips. It was originally developed for military use and is designed to require minimal technical training and be suitable for all weather conditions.
It is now used commercially for vehicular bridge girders, decks and abutment walls. It has already been installed on concrete bridges in Alabama, Missouri and Wisconsin in the USA.
The software was developed in cooperation with the University of Miami’s Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department.