Carbon fibre “plate bonding”

Discusses the use of carbon fibre plates for strengthening concrete structures and research and development by Professor Urs Meier at The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Testing and Research (EMPA), on which the Carbodur system is based. Plate bonding, using mild steel strips, is now a proven process but, like all technology, progress moves the boundaries forward. Its replacement with carbon fibre strips has now created a system which is simpler to use, quicker to install and highly cost‐effective. A three‐year project has also been established by the Department of Trade and Industry, under the structural Composites LINK collaborative research scheme, to examine strengthening of bridges using polymeric composite materials (ROBUST).