Premiere for Filigree Carbon Concrete T-Beam Bridge “Varibridge”
Research area "Lightweight Construction in Civil Engineering" at the Professorship of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology developed a steel-free precast bridge solution made of carbon concrete for pedestrian and bicycle bridges together with partners from North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony
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This pedestrian bridge was developed in lightweight prefabricated carbon concrete construction. The carbon concrete surface is slip-resistant. Photo: Prof. Dr. Sandra Gelbrich -
"It is a very special honor for a scientist to be able to witness the transfer of her own development results into practice," says Prof. Dr. Sandra Gelbrich (right), head of the research area "Lightweight Construction in Civil Engineering" at the Professorship of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology. Photo: Roy Lange
"The demand for durable bridges with small to medium spans has increased in recent years. The concrete material is predestined for such bridges," says Prof. Dr. Sandra Gelbrich, head of the research area "Lightweight Construction in Civil Engineering" at the Professorship of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology. To achieve high durability while minimizing the use of resources, he said, the use of carbon reinforcement in the concrete is advantageous, allowing a drastic reduction in the weight of the bridge by minimizing the concrete cover.
These advantages were demonstrated in the "VariBridge" research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Together with the Hans Graf construction company from Wesseling (near Cologne) and the Schulze & Rank engineering firm from Chemnitz, the research area has developed a steel-free, reinforced, filigree bridge module for pedestrian and bicycle bridges in lightweight prefabricated carbon concrete construction and has now successfully put it into practice. Two reference structures have been built in Wesseling using this new lightweight construction method.
"The thin-walled T-beam structure consists of a structurally dense high-performance concrete in visible quality and a combined steel-free reinforcement system of carbon grids, GFRP bars and GFRP stirrups, as well as a new patent-pending carbon (CFRP) angular lamella with interlocking, which is positively integrated into the concrete during production," Gelbrich explains. For the technological implementation, a flexible formwork system was used, which allows the production of different geometries through variable inserts. "With VariBridge, a significant reduction in component thickness is possible while increasing the service life to over 100 years," says Gelbrich.
The inauguration of the bridges took place on January 31, 2023 in Wesseling in the presence of the Mayor of the city, Ralph Manzke, the District Administrator of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Frank Rock, representatives of the management of Hans Graf Bauunternehmung GmbH & Co.KG. and Chemnitz University of Technology.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Sandra Gelbrich, head of the research area "Lightweight Construction in Civil Engineering" at the Professorship of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology, tel. +49 (0)371 531-32192, e-mail sandra.gelbrich@mb.tu-chemnitz.de
(Author: Mario Steinebach / Translation: Brent Benofsky)
Matthias Fejes
03.02.2023
