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The University of Maine AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center has received a patent for a new method of increasing the strength of wood used in bridges, roofs and other structures.
The patent is for a strategy of stressing glue-laminated timber beams primarily used in bridges and roofs before construction begins.
According to researchers at the center, the new technology increases the strength of these reinforced beams by 38 percent by bonding a thin strip of fiberglass and resin material to the bottom of the structure.
“We can tremendously strengthen wood by reinforcing it with a relatively small amount of fiberglass or other materials like that,” Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Technology Mac Gray said. “The bottom line is we’re seeing an increase in strength of a pre-stressed beam over a reinforced but not pre-stressed beam. You’re gaining strength without using any more material.”
The technology, known as Pre-Stressed FRP-Glulam Girders, has been the focus of researchers worldwide due to the many uses of the material in construction. The patent will provide the AEWC with credit for the invention of this method of beam reinforcement.
Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center Habib Dagher believes the technology could cut construction material costs in half and change sections of the construction industry, according to a Feb. 10 Bangor Daily News article.
“Imagine when you go to build a bridge, instead of using four beams you only have to use two,” Dagher was quoted as saying in the article. “By reinforcing the beam with this material, it becomes stronger and reduces the amount of materials needed to support a structure. The implications for construction are many.”
The possible advancement the technology provides for construction has caught the attention of the Maine Department of Transportation as well as the Federal Highway Administration.
The two departments provided a large amount of financial help on the project, which Dagher said mounted considerable costs — in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars or greater.
“The cost of the research, though, will transfer into significant cost-savings in the construction industry,” Dagher was quoted as saying.
In a Feb. 10 demonstration to the media on how the technology works, Dagher explained how the fiberglass material and resin are bonded with the beam, which results in the material being twice the strength of steel. According to the Bangor Daily News, Dagher explained that, following the bonding process, hydraulic jacks push upward on the material to pre-stress the beam.
By creating a convex curve in the beam, researchers found the beams counteract the downward push created by weight resting on the structure. This makes the beams capable of handling double the weight they would otherwise be capable of upholding.
A UMaine press release cites research conducted by former student Olivia Sanchez, who has since received her master’s degree in civil engineering from UMaine. The center also thanked former graduate student Rodrigo Silva-Henriquez for research conducted years ago. Though the former students were not credited in the patent, they provided crucial information.
“What’s exciting about all of this is the fact that we finally received this patent and the University of Maine won the race in inventing this technology,” Dagher was quoted as saying.
Bangor Daily News