IC-IMPACTS Creating Sustainable Infrastructure Using New Materials

IC-IMPACTS Creating Sustainable Infrastructure Using New Materials

Corrosion of reinforced steel in concrete is a significant global issue.  Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world and 80% of all damage to concrete is due to the corrosion of reinforced steel.  IC-IMPACTS is currently working on new building materials that are corrosion-resistant, making structures safer and more sustainable.
“In 2010, $2.2 trillion was spent on repairing and replacing corroded infrastructure, approximately 3% of the entire world’s GDP,” said Dr. Shamim Sheikh, a professor at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Shamim Sheikh and Dr. Umesh Sharma (IIT Roorkee, India) are working together to develop alternative construction materials that are safer and more sustainable than steel.  Their solution is a material called Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRPs), a material that is corrosion-resistant, is three times stronger than steel, and can be used to reinforce columns, bridges, and buildings.

GFRPs in the simplest sense, are very similar to the glass fibers used in communication technologies.  The glass fibers are covered with a special resin and can be produced as strips and wraps to easily repair structures, or integrated into bars as a replacement for reinforced steel in new structures.

This innovative material is already being used to repair deteriorating bridges.  Bridge columns under Toronto’s Highway 1 over Leslie Street were repaired with GFRPs and reduced the risk of corrosion by 80%.  GFRPs have an added benefit of speeding up the overall repair process as well – a bridge column can be wrapped and repaired within 1-2 days compared to lengthy repairs using traditional techniques.

Dr. Sheikh and Dr. Sharma are currently testing GFRP reinforced columns in extreme winter and summer conditions to evaluate the application of GFRPs in Canadian and Indian environments.  “Structures are the same everywhere, we just need to identify the sources of variability that affect them and then address them,” says Dr. Sheikh.

With both the Canadian and Indian governments facing daunting levels of infrastructure in need of repair, GFRPs can be used to increase the durability of new and existing structures, creating safer and more sustainable infrastructure while significantly reducing costs.