CYPE, together with Sika®, a leading company in the development of chemical specialities for sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting structures, has developed a software tool called Sika® CarboDur® Design Software that professionals can use to automatically design a structural reinforcement project using the different carbon fibre systems offered by the Swiss company, for specific international standards.
The use of carbon fibre for structures is a solution based on a non-metallic polymer that is three to five times lighter than steel and six times more resistant to fatigue than steel, so its durability and high strength make it a highly qualified material to provide safety to construction sites and integrity to structures.
As explained by Carlos Fernández, technical director of CYPE, this construction system is used when the project designer has to make a modification to the buildings when having to repair or reinforce the structures for different reasons such as, for example, "errors in construction and design, an increase in loads and capacity due to changes in use, regulatory changes and especially in renovation and expansion projects". Carlos Fernández also points out that these carbon fibre strips are placed in columns, beams, slabs and reinforced concrete walls, and are especially suitable for resisting increases in axial forces, bending and shear moments in the indicated structural elements.
Furthermore, according to CYPE's technical director, this construction system "is minimally invasive, which makes it an ideal technique for historical buildings, as it offers an aesthetic envelope that goes unnoticed". Specifically, Carlos Fernández explains that "carbon fibre materials in the use of structural reinforcements are lighter and stronger compared to steel while being quick and easy to install, and more cost-efficient than traditional systems".
The new software meets one of the requests of the designers who use this type of system, as they can now analyse this technique in a simple and automatic way thanks to the software created by CYPE and SIKA®. It is currently adapted to the American Concrete Institute (ACI 440.2R-08) standard, which is also used in other Asian countries. CYPE has also adapted this software to the Swiss SIA 166 standard and the British TR-55, which is based on Eurocode 2.
As for the adaptation of this software to different regulations, Carlos Fernández explains that in the use of carbon fibre systems for structures "there are many countries that, like Spain, lack specific regulations". He, therefore, emphasises that the collaboration agreement between CYPE and SIKA® foresees the adaptation of this software to countries that have specific regulations for this construction system and that they are currently studying the incorporation of new regulations into the SIKA® CarboDur® Design Software program, in accordance with SIKA's priorities in the more than 90 countries in which it distributes its products.
