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SUMMARY:CESS Seminar : From Concept to Completion : The Journey of Carbon 
 Fiber Reinforced Polymers in Bridge Construction
DTSTART:20231006T121500
DTEND:20231006T130000
DTSTAMP:20260510T022720Z
UID:223d2d1bfbbef19f243fa50d0055899a7a425cc6a1ae44ba5e238fd2
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Urs Meier (EMPA)\nAbstract \nIn the early 1980s\, a sma
 ll group of researchers began exploring the potential of fiber-reinforced 
 polymers (FRP) for use in bridge construction. Most of them focused on gla
 ss\, some on aramid\, and few\, like at Empa\, on carbon fibers. In Switze
 rland\, KWF\, now known as Innosuisse\, supported two Empa projects: the d
 evelopment of parallel wire tendons made of unidirectional carbon fiber re
 inforced polymers (CFRP)\, and a post-strengthening concept for steel rein
 forced concrete bridges using thin unidirectional CFRP strips. However\, s
 ignificant obstacles arose\, such as the transfer of high longitudinal str
 esses into anchorage systems and concrete structures.\n\nNevertheless\, fu
 ll-scale CFRP pilot applications in bridge construction succeeded in the 1
 990s. The CFRP post-strengthening technique quickly became a state-of-the-
 art solution worldwide and a commercial success. CFRP tendons as stay or p
 ost-tensioning cables in early sponsored projects proved to be very reliab
 le and technically successful. Nevertheless\, there were no follow-up proj
 ects. Despite the successes of the pilot projects\, building authorities w
 ere slow to acknowledge the outstanding properties of CFRP tendons\, inclu
 ding corrosion resistance\, outstanding fatigue properties\, and lightweig
 ht for tendons.\nIn 2021\, a large network arch railway bridge near Stuttg
 art\, with all hangers made of CFRP tendons\, broke the ice. Researchers a
 nd engineers demonstrated that the CFRP solution is not only more economic
  but also much more sustainable. Further large bridges of this type are al
 ready under construction. New visions continue to emerge\, such as the pos
 sibility of producing structural CFRP components from CO2 captured from th
 e air. Ultimately\, the progress and continued development of CFRP technol
 ogy are paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient future in brid
 ge construction.\n\nShort bio\nUrs Meier has held various positions at the
  Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). I
 n 1989\, he was promoted to the rank of Managing Director of Empa in Dübe
 ndorf\, a position that he held until his retirement. Additionally\, he ha
 s been a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Z
 urich. Throughout his career\, he has made significant contributions to th
 e application of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) in civil engineer
 ing\, earning worldwide recognition for his pioneering research. Notably\,
  his work on post-strengthening civil structures with CFRP laminates and t
 he application of CFRP stay-and post-tensioning cables has had a significa
 nt impact on the field. Currently\, he serves as a technology consultant f
 or the application of CFRP in bridge construction at Empa.\n\n\nSandwiches
  offered after the seminar\n 
LOCATION:GC B1 10 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==GC%20B1%2010 https://epfl.zo
 om.us/j/63504321789
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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