Dueling Dinos Case Study

DUELING
DINOS

PROBLEM:

Application of a strengthening material was needed on several beams in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. CSC partnered with Brawley Company as our general contractor on this project. FRP wrapping was determined to be the most cost efficient and structural effective solution for this job.

MATERIALS:

CFRP: Tyfo® SCH-41

Primer: Tyfo® S Epoxy & Thickened Tyfo® S Epoxy

PICTURED: Diagrams of FRP plan.

SURFACE PREP:

The surfaces on the beams and joists of the structure were fully prepared, providing a minimum of CSP-2 surface roughness. The surface preparation cleared all the laitance, dust, grime, etc. located on the surfaces to properly install the FRP material.

SOLUTION:

After completing all required surface preparation, a prime coat of thickened Tyfo® S Epoxy was applied to the substrate to fill all minor imperfections, deflection, voids, etc., in the substrate prior to installation of the saturated fabric. The Tyfo® CFRP material fabric was hand saturated to ensure impregnation of all fabric with Tyfo® S Epoxy. The CFRP was installed in a U-Wrap to provide max strengthening. All air bubbles were worked out of the system. System was leveled set and sealed using an additional coat of thickened Tyfo® S Epoxy.

***PICTURED:*** *Finished FRP U-Wrap Installation on the ceiling beams within the exhibit.*

TESTING:

All pull tests were performed by a qualified CSC employee following the specifications and the locations indicated by Brawley Company. Representatives from Brawley Company and CSC were present to ensure transparency.

Structural Beams

Area A Test was performed on 03/08/2022 and it was successful at 229+ PSI (See wrapping photos PG. 2)
Area A Test was performed on 03/08/2022 and it was successful at 402+ PSI (See wrapping photos PG. 2 )
Area A Test was performed on 03/08/2022 and it was successful at 449+ PSI (See wrapping photos PG. 3 )

***PICTURED:*** *Pull test #1 from Area A with results of 229+ PSI.*

***PICTURED:*** *Pull test #2 from Area A with results of 402+ PSI.*

***PICTURED:*** *Pull test #3 from Area A with results of 449+ PSI.*

CONCLUSION:

After completing the CFRP installation, pull testing was performed on areas to demonstrate an increase in PSI. All areas passed this pull test and the results can be viewed in the images above. A total of 1021 square feet of FRP was installed.