Middle East safety and barrier applications abound with regional municipal tests show strong results by Schoeck ComBAR. The most recent tests, carried out at the Dubai Municipality, accompanied and evaluated by UAE Higher Colleges of Technology, and at Qatar's Arab Center for Engineering Studies, as well as independent tests carried out at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, have shown results of tensile strengths far exceeding those officially quoted by Schoeck.
"Corrosion is a clear and present danger in building structures and barriers in the region due to the harsh climate and humidity that prevails. Schoeck's ComBAR has shown time and again that it is ideally suited to the region and we believe that the safety and environmental advantages are starting to speak for themselves," commented Managing Director of Schoeck Middle East Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Spitz.
The special manufacturing method used by Schoeck ensures that all bar diameters have a high tensile strength of more than 1000 N/mm². The modulus of elasticity is 60,000 N/mm². Glass fibre reinforcement has similar mechanical characteristics as steel reinforcement, but is much lighter, more resistant to aggressive environments, non-magnetic and does not conduct thermal or electric currents. It is indeed a special reinforcement for special cases.
ComBAR bars with 12 mm and 16 mm core diameter were used as reinforcement at both faces of the wall. In addition, 16 mm bars with a headed end at the bottom were installed in the bridge deck running along the inclined portion of the inside face. For other applications the ComBAR portfolio contains straight bars with core diameters ranging from 8 mm to 32 mm as well as 12 mm and 20 mm bent bars. Bar end heads are available for 12 mm, 16 mm and 32mm bars.
A 36-tonne trailer truck drives into a bridge barrier at 80 km/h - and causes only minor damage to the barrier wall. This is the result of a crash test recently carried out on a barrier wall in North America, wherein the glass fibre reinforcement Schoeck ComBAR was installed.
Along with the ongoing development of the region, safety concerns have always been a priority, especially elements such as road safety as cities become more densely populated. Barrier walls are being reinforced more and more often with glass fibre reinforcement due to corrosion problems that often occur when traditional steel-reinforced concrete is used. These issues are eliminated when glass fibre reinforcement has been installed in its place, with the overall strength of the wall remaining the same if not stronger. The German building components manufacturer Schoeck developed the glass fibre reinforcement ComBAR several years ago with bars made up of numerous highly corrosion-resistant linearly aligned glass fibres impregnated by a vinyl ester resin matrix.
Further proof of the outstanding material properties of ComBAR was recently provided by a spectacular crash test in North America: a ComBAR-reinforced barrier wall withstood the impact of a 36-tonne truck. The truck crashed into the wall at an angle of 15 degrees and a speed of 80 km/h, and came to a standstill after about 50 metres. Following the crash, neither bending cracks nor any other signs of bending failure could be found on the wall.
