400,000 Building Columns Seismic Upgrade with TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite Systems

Due to Singapore’s limited land area, the majority of Singapore’s population live in high-rise apartments. Many of these buildings were built in the early 1970’s and 1980’s and were in need of a complete makeover. Recently an upgrade program was put into place to completely overhaul and beautify these old buildings. One of the major components and challenges of this program was to upgrade and enhance seismic resistance of the wall-like columns found in the void deck areas of many of these buildings quickly and with minimal disruption to the residents. After extensive research and testing at various institutions and universities in Singapore, the use of FRP’s to upgrade these columns was adopted.

The patented TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite System uses aerospace technology and materials, i.e. carbon/ glass/ aramid fibres and epoxy composites and works on the concept of wrapping structural members such as columns, beams, slabs and walls to enhance ductility and load carrying capacity of the members.

To date, more than 3000 buildings, totaling almost 400,000 columns and counting, have been upgraded with the TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite System. Due to its speed and ease of installation, over 100 columns a week can be wrapped from the preparation stage, including final architectural finishes. The column upgrade program is currently in its seventeenth year.