CATSTRONG
CatStrong carbon fiber products were developed to strengthen, upgrade, and retrofit concrete structural members such as beams, columns, pier caps, and walls. The advantage of CatStrong is ease of application, requiring only a single worker without the need of heavy construction equipment or tools. Although high performance materials are higher in cost, compared to other retrofit measures, CatStrong products reduce overall structure repair costs. In some cases, applying the materials does not impact traffic.
The CatStrong family of products include carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) rod panels (CRPs), uniaxial (0o) CFRP fabrics (UCFs), triaxial (0o/+60o/-60o) CFRP fabrics (TCFs), and pre-cured pier and pile wraps (TCWs). The carbon fibers used in the production of CatStrong have a tensile strength of 680 × 103psi (4700 MPa) and a modulus of 20 × 106psi (139 GPa).
Learn More
To access recent KTC research reports involving CatStrong products, click on the links below.
What is CatStrong CRP-X3?
CatStrong consists of Carbon Fiber Polymer Rod Panels that are bonded to existing reinforced and pre-stressed concrete bridge structural members that have become deficient to increase their capacity. The panels consist of small diameter carbon fiber rods that can resist up to 195,700 pounds of force per one foot wide section, but only weigh 6.48 ounces per square foot. The goal of CatStrong CRP-X3 is to decrease bridge repair costs by reducing labor hours typically required to fix concrete bridge structures. Applying CatStrong CRP-X3 panels to concrete bridges does not impact traffic.
CatStrong Products
UCF Fabrics
UCF is aUniaxial Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Fabric that can resist a minimum force per 1-ft wide section of 55,000 pounds for UCF 055 and 120,000 pounds for UCF 120.
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CRP Rod Panels
CRP is a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rod Panel that can resist a minimum force per 1-ft wide section of 70,000 pounds for CRP 070 and 195,000 pounds for CRP 195.
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TCF Fabrics
TCF is a Triaxial (0°/+60°/- 60°) Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Fabric that can resist a minimum of 12,000 pounds of force per 1-ft wide section in the x-direction and 12,000 pounds of force per 1-ft wide section in the y-direction for the TCF 012.
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TCW Pier and Pile Wrap
TCW is a Triaxial (0°/+60°/- 60°) Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Wrap that can resist a minimum of 12,000 pounds of force per 1-ft wide section in the x-direction and 12,000 pounds of force per 1-ft wide section in the y-direction for TCW 12.
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