|
08.12.2005 Schöck ComBAR is a major development in reinforcement technology |
|
|
As a manufacturer of innovative construction products for the static-construction sector, Schöck has built an enviable reputation, mainly through its core competencies in the noise insulation and thermal insulation fields. In the last few years however, reinforcement technology has become another mainstay of this specialist construction industry supplier from Baden-Baden in southern Germany. For concrete reinforcement requirements, steel has been used almost
exclusively, but there are special considerations when faced with issues
such as corrosion resistance, electrical insulation and chemical attack
- areas in which steel is found wanting. The Schöck ComBAR system
really comes into its own in these situations. It is a glass fibre reinforced
polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bar which offers all the benefits of steel
in terms of design, tensile strength and bonding properties, but it
is also much lighter and easier to handle. |
 |
| The key to ComBAR's special properties as a
reinforcing bar is the pultrusion manufacturing process. Basically, this
is a method by which the raw materials - plastic resin and continuous
glass fibre - are 'pulled' together under heat, rather than 'pushed' as
in the case of extrusion, to form a composite rod which is ideally suited
to applications where high strength, thermal stability, weather and corrosion
resistance are required. With its ribbed surface and a bond behaviour
and stability comparable to BST 500, ComBAR is particularly suitable for
applications involving tunnel construction, where the reinforcement must
withstand enormous forces. Partly this results from the constant pressure
of the earth - which makes special demands on the tensile strength of
the material - and from tunnelling heads with diameters of more than 13
m which are driven through the head walls of the launching shafts and
also through the shaft reinforcement. |
 |
|
New Amsterdam subway uses 75
tons of ComBAR |
|
 |
 |
|
Schöck began developing the glass fibre reinforced polymer reinforcing bar as early as 1995 and after a four year transition period, during which the company acted as the sole distributor for an American product under license in Europe, started proprietary development in 2000. The final outcome was an improved reinforcing bar that met the standards of the Munich Institute for Building Materials and Construction; the Darmstadt Institute for Materials and Mechanics in the Building Trade; the Erlangen Chair for Plastics Technology - and last and certainly by no means least, the German Federal Environment Foundation which has made an essential contribution to the development of the product during the last three years. More information: www.schoeck.com PRESS RELEASE presse@schoeck.de CONTACT Tel.: +49 7222 15 42 75 |
|
