Structural reinforcement is a technique that aims to help a building or construction meet its work expectations or load requests, in many cases structural reinforcement is necessary once it is determined that the building will be used for a different purpose than the one thought at the time of its construction, or because the building has suffered damages for different reasons such as seismic damage, excess loads or others.

There are several types of structural reinforcement of buildings, the most common being based on concrete, steel and carbon fibers, there are also many aspects of reinforcement such as bending, moment, shear or axial load.

The  company has the technical staff and the experience for the design of structural reinforcement based on concrete, steel and carbon fibers, the latter option being a new alternative that has many advantages over traditional reinforcement methods, since it allows to carry out reinforcements. structures in a very short time, allowing companies to have less downtime and return to normal activities.

Carbon fibers for structural reinforcement are a polymer reinforced with carbon fiber, of which there are several presentations, some in the form of sheets and plates. The procedure for the installation of these reinforcements with carbon fibers is carried out simply by gluing the carbon fibers using high modulus epoxy resins that allow confining the structural elements and thus achieve the requested reinforcements.

Each structural reinforcement is different and requires a very particular analysis to define the position, quantity, placement and, where appropriate, the number of layers needed to reinforce a structure. For this HORSE engineers use specialized software in these issues, allowing to project structural reinforcement schemes in very short times. It is also necessary to carry out a campaign for the inspection and opinion of structural safety and structural health status in which a building or construction is located, and each structural element to be reinforced; quality checks can be carried out by non-destructive methods using impact sclerometers that allow determining the strength of concrete by rebound.

Some companies that are dedicated to the manufacture of carbon fiber for structural reinforcement are HORSR, Sika, freyssinet, BASF, PROCCSA, it is a company with experience suppliers of structural reinforcement of buildings such as schools, hospitals, hotels, road bridges and others, based on steel, concrete. 

THE ADVANTAGES OF STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENTS WITH HORSE CARBON FIBERS

The application of the reinforcement is very simple, if required reinforce a lock element flexural simply blade Carbon fiber adheres, by resin in the lower bed element and be reinforced.  Also be applied this system to slabs, and any flexural element, even elements that already show damage or cracking.

The structural reinforcement with flexural carbon fibers

- It is a very light system, which is coupled to the elements and does not increase its section to more than three centimeters

- It also allows the reinforcement to be hidden and does not cause a bad impression on users

- Compared to the weight of other flexural reinforcement systems such as steel, it is 100 times lighter.

For shear element reinforcement applications,  carbon fibers are used, or similar, which are a flexible fabric that is adhered by means of epoxy resin, which has the advantages such as:

- It adapts easily to sections.

- It allows to reinforce shear and bending.

- Compared to the weight of other flexural reinforcement systems such as steel, it is 100 times lighter.

- It is easy to install, and can reach areas that are difficult to access.