CarbonCast Piles use corrosion-resistant C-GRID® carbon fiber grid as secondary reinforcing in hoop direction transverse to the strand. They offer exceptional long-term durability and help prevent deterioration due to cracking and spalling in pile splash and impact zones, extending the life cycle of the precast element and reducing overall maintenance and replacement costs.
Stop corrosion
The presence of salt in coastal and marine environments often amplifies the possibility and speed of corrosion in conventional steel reinforcing, which is a major identified problem by many transportation departments and specification authorities at the local, state and federal levels.
The CarbonCast Pile system with C-GRID technology offers a combination of conventional precast manufacturability and favorable composite economics that alternative carbon-fiber composite strand, rebar and stainless steel based reinforcing materials cannot match.
Testing validates design
Extensive testing of CFRP structures within the industry is continuing to identify the most cost-effective technology. Initial testing of the pile concept and confinement of CFRP grid versus steel spirals was done by Dr. Sami Rizkalla, of the North Carolina State University Constructed Facilities Laboratory.
Subsequent testing (including pile load testing and driving in know soil conditions) was done by the Florida DOT –Marcus H. Ansley Structures Research Center Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. Various CFRP product research and testing is ongoing in the sector across the United States and Canada.
Patent recognizes unique technology
U.S. Patent 8,677,720, “Precast concrete pile with carbon fiber reinforced grid,” describes a composite support structure with a plurality of support strands surrounded by a CFRP mesh and encapsulated by structural concrete.
The support structure provides high corrosive resistance in additional to various advantages in withstanding compressive, tensile and shear loading as compared to carbon steel spirals commonly used in piles today.
