Dübendorf ZH/Seewen SZ – Researchers and technicians at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) are working with partners to develop new repair methods for concrete bridges. Shape memory steel is to be used to maintain the reinforcement of the bridges.
(CONNECT) The bridges built in the 1980s are showing increasing signs of fatigue and need to be repaired. Researchers and technicians from the Structural Engineering department at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf are working on new methods for renovating these bridges. For their experiments, they are using a bridge deck made of ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC), reinforced with shape memory steel, according to a press release. This steel is an iron-based steel made from an alloy containing manganese, silicon and chromium, among other things. The fiber-reinforced concrete is bonded to this steel. After heating, the steel contracts and closes cracks that have appeared in the concrete.
The researchers led by Angela Sequeira Lemos and Christoph Czaderski have carried out corresponding experiments in Empa's construction hall. Five concrete slabs, each five meters long, simulate bridge elements. One of these remained unreinforced, while the others were reinforced with conventional reinforcing steel or shape memory steel. For the test, cracks were added to the panels to simulate real wear conditions. As a result, the combination of fiber-reinforced concrete and shape memory steel proved to be more functional. It was used to close cracks and lift sagging bridge sections. "We were able to show that our system not only works, but can actually revive existing bridges," Angela Sequeira Lemos is quoted as saying in the press release.
The research project was funded by Innosuisse and supported by the OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences and re-fer, a spin-off of Empa from Seewen, and the Association of the Swiss Cement Industry cemsuisse. A practical test on a real bridge could arouse the interest of the industry. "And as demand increases, material costs are also likely to fall - this technology could then have a lasting impact on bridge renovations," says Sequeira Lemos with conviction. ce/ww
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