ComBar offers a lightweight option
01 June 2010
SINCE it began formal operations early this year in the UAE, Dubai-based Schoeck ME has been focusing on the engineering and the distribution of Schöck ComBar produced by its parent company Schöck, a German structural building products manufacturer.
Schöck ComBar is a glassfibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bar, which is claimed to offer all the benefits of steel in terms of design, tensile strength and bonding properties, yet it is much lighter and easier to handle. In addition, ComBar is neutral to electrical and magnetic disturbances.
“The ComBar system is already a well-established and popular solution to challenging reinforcement problems in Europe and we believe that the Middle Eastern market represents a major opportunity for this technology,” says Nikolaus Wild, chairman of the board of Schoeck ME.
“We need to be close to our customers and the new subsidiary allows for faster delivery and for the provision of local engineering services. In addition, we can offer direct support at construction sites regarding matters such as the correct handling of ComBar bars and on-site safety instructions,” he adds.
Compared with the first-generation GFRP systems, Schöck ComBar reinforcing bars have a much higher tensile strength and a significantly higher modulus of elasticity (E = 60 GPa), according to Christoph Spitz, Schoeck ME managing director, who has been involved in projects in Germany as well as the UAE, as a civil engineer, specialist for foundations and tunnelling and area manager since 2006.
“Their bond properties match those of steel rebar. Extensive independent tests have been carried out on ComBar in Europe and Canada as well as in the Middle East by the Arab Testing Centre, the Dubai Municipality and the King Fahad University,” he states. “The tensile strength and the bond behaviour have been tested for short-term and long-term purposes. The long-term experiment involved a large number of bars tested at different temperatures (23, 40 and 60 deg C) and also conditioned in aggressive liquids representing the harsh environment of the Arabian Peninsula. This value guarantees a life-time of the bar of 100 years in many types of environment and structure, including the warm and chemically aggressive marine surroundings encountered in the Middle East.”
“Corrosion of steel reinforcement frequently leads to extensive damage to concrete members, resulting in the need for costly repairs or the premature replacement of the entire structure. In many cases, Schöck ComBar bars can be a technically sound and economically viable alternative to conventional corrosion protection measures or to the installation of stainless steel,” adds Spitz.
Spitz has been responsible for a number of major projects including a seafront villa for the Qatari Royal Family in Doha and the Qatar Aluminium factory (Qatalum), where ComBar bars were installed as an electrically non-conductive concrete reinforcement in the ‘rectifier areas’ of the floor slab.
