FIBER COMPOSITE SHEETS IN COLD CLIMATE REHAB

Abstract

In Canada and northern regions of the U.S., severe winter conditions and the extensive use of deicing salts combine together to cause serious deterioration in vast numbers of existing structures. In recent years, the authors' group at the University of Sherbrooke has focused on this problem. A common objective of much research has been to assess the viability of composite retrofitting technologies in severe environments. Field applications have been carried out involving various structural elements such as exterior building columns, columns of a highway overpass, partially submerged bridge piers, and beam and column elements of a major parking garage structure.