Improvement to Newly Constructed RC Slabs at Duy Thanh Factory with the TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® System

Since the “open-door” policy started in 1990, the friendly business environment in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has seen the establishment of many industrial parks throughout the country. The Duy Thanh Factory is a wholly Vietnamese owned textile factory located in the Tan Binh Industrial Park on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

As part of the extension project to the existing manufacturing facility, the owner, Duy Thanh Co. Limited, decided to build a new 4-storey factory to house more machinery to increase its production capacity. Prior to its completion, cracks were found on the top surface of the RC slabs and were developed along the span of the RC beams. It was then realized that the top steel reinforcement were pressed down during concreting, hence leaving the RC slabs without any top reinforcement to cater for the negative moments. The requirement for strengthening to the slabs became more evident when the dead loads of the equipment were raised. As the structural issue on the RC slabs is causing delay to the installation of the equipment, all conventional methods to strengthen the RC slabs were considered and dropped. With earlier introduction to the TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite System, the project consultant decided to approach Fyfe Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore for a solution to the problem.

With the high urgency for solution, Fyfe Asia provided a strengthening proposal after assessing the situation and the proposal with submission was approved within a short span of four days. TYFO^® Fibrwrap Composite System was proposed for the improvement of the flexural capacity of the RC slabs. This strengthening system is a viable system to address the needs of strengthening to the affected RC slabs. With its composite technology derived from the aerospace industry, rendering it to be a light-weight and strong material, it was chosen against conventional methods due to its speed and ease of application in difficult site conditions and tight project schedule. The proposal for the slab improvement using the TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite System was given to the building owner by the consultant and was readily accepted. The strengthening using the TYFO^® Fibrwrap^® Composite System was completed within a short duration and prevented any further delays to the installation of the equipment at the new factory.