In this project some of the confining stirrups were inadvertently left out of some of the ground floor columns in a multi-story office building. Edge Structural Composites Fiberbond VelaCarb system was selected for the repair. Only one layer of carbon fiber was needed in the plastic hinge regions in order to bring the columns back to the designed capacity. Some of the Carbon fiber was applied in one 24" wide band and on other columns, in three 12" wide bands. The project was completed in less than a week with no disruption to the construction schedule.
The surfaces are lightly ground to promote adhesion and to radius the corners.
After priming the areas to be repaired, adhesive putty is applied to fill any ‘bug holes’ or surface irregularities.
The pre-wetted VelaCarb is carefully applied to the column and smoothed out.
The upper layers are applied.
The final check of the VelaCarb for air bubbles.
Accurate record keeping is a vital part of a successful repair.
A finished and cured repair.
The completed project showing plywood sheets applied to protect the repair from accidental damage.
