Many times I had to do construction work, which involved the use of reinforcement and other reinforcing elements. Unfortunately, until recently I did not know that metal fittings can be preferred to a more perfect version, the basis of which is composed of composite materials. I would like to present to your attention my feedback on this product, compiled on the basis of personal experience of use.
So, composite reinforcement, as a rule, is made on the basis of fiberglass. Its structure is a set of fibers, the connection between which is a fairly complex chemical composition. I had to deal with several types of composite fittings, but the best option, in terms of quality and price, I would call plastic fittings. The structure of this building element is as follows:
- The main reinforcement barrel. It is this component that determines the strength index. It consists of fibers arranged in parallel, firmly fastened together by a substance of polyester resin;
- Outer shell. With its help, the reinforcing bar is fixed as firmly as possible with concrete. As a rule, the fibrous reinforcing shell is simply wound onto the main shaft. To ensure a more reliable adhesion, the sheath can be sprayed on a sandy base.
In general, the physical body of a fiberglass reinforcement can have many different configurations. This diversity depends on how justified the new option is from a technological and financial point of view. For example, I had to work with an armature, the trunk of which is a "pigtail" made of carbon fiber and basalt threads, and the outer layer resembles a winding of basalt fibers with a double directionality.
The advantages of composite fittings
In the process of exploitation, I managed to identify the following advantages of composite fittings:
- Plastic does not rust, nor does it lose its primordial properties even with constant contact with the corrosive medium. It turns out that the composite reinforcement can be unambiguously assigned to the materials constituting the first category of chemical resistance;
- The tensile strength of the composite reinforcement is almost 3 times higher than that of a standard metal product;
- The mass of composite reinforcement is minimal, it is 5 times smaller than a steel rod of similar diameter. This advantage leads to the fact that the costs for transporting reinforcement to the construction site and the total weight of the concrete structure are significantly reduced;
- The temperature expansion of composite reinforcement is practically on the same level as the coefficient of thermal expansion characteristic of concrete;
- The use of composite reinforcement is allowed in the temperature range from minus 70 to 100 degrees Celsius. It turns out that it is absolutely safe.
