Carbon Fiber Grids Replace Steel as Innovative Concrete Reinforcement.

Facade panels with carbon fiber 3D grid reinforcement on a new factory building for Alphabeton AG in Büron (Switzerland).

The corrosion resistance of carbon fibers permits thin concrete facades

Wiesbaden, August 16, 2013. The three-dimensional carbon fiber reinforcement newly developed by SGL Group - The Carbon Company and V. FRAAS Solutions in Textile GmbH has passed the practical test. Using these three-dimensional carbon fiber grids as reinforcement, it was possible to produce concrete facade panels only 26 mm thick. A steel-reinforced facade panel of similar size has a minimum thickness of 100 mm.

The facade panels were installed on a new factory building for Alphabeton AG in Büron (Switzerland), in which precast concrete elements will be produced. Alphabeton AG are specialists in concrete products manufactured from high-performance and ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) and make full use of innovative technologies.

Hans-Peter Felder, who is responsible for research & development at Alphabeton, said: “We were looking for a solution that would enable us to produce thin concrete facade panels in large dimensions. The new 3D carbon fiber grids impressed us with their light weight and corrosion resistance and were easy and convenient to process”.

Peter Weber, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Business Unit Carbon Fibers & Composite Materials of SGL Group, said: “In this application, we particularly exploit the corrosion resistance of our carbon fibers. Thanks to this advantageous property, we can dispense with the thick concrete covering obligatory with steel-reinforced concrete and produce thin concrete elements”.

V. FRAAS Solutions in Textile GmbH has developed a production plant in which the new 3D textile reinforcement based on SIGRAFIL® C carbon fibers from SGL Group can be manufactured in large dimensions for the first time.

These structural reinforcing materials based on carbon fibers are also being used in the repair and renovation sector. As a result of the special properties of carbon fibers, such as high strength and stiffness combined with light weight, bridges and buildings can be permanently renovated.

Technical Details of the Façade Panels Used

• Design: ventilated curtain wall covering a total area of 450 m² 

• Approx. 350 facade panels 

• Facade panel dimensions: 865 x 1620 mm, thickness: 26 mm 

• Structure of the SIGRATEX® 3D carbon fiber reinforcement: two layers of carbon fiber nets spaced 12 mm apart, connected by compression-resistant pile threads.