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Carbon fibre protection for Abu Saleem Bridge

AL AIN — Carbon fibres will be used to reinforce the Abu Saleem Bridge which was damaged a few months ago when a huge truck tried to pass under it. The top portion of the truck struck the bridge bottom bringing several cement blocks tumbling down.

The bridge will be strengthened by the Al Ain Department of Municipalities and Agriculture in collaboration with the UAE University (UAEU).

Nasir Al Iriany, Head of the Design Department in Al Ain Municipality, said that the department has conducted many studies before consulting the UAE University.

The bridge maintenance project is under supervision of Dr Ashraf Baddah, a member of the Canadian Association of Science and Engineering, and member of the faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering at the UAEU.

Carbon fibres have used on a large-scale by American bridge building experts, notably on the California Bridge, which, to this day, has withstood even earthquakes.

Bahaa Al Aawar, Project Manager at Al Jabir Company, said that carbon fibres are used to increase the durability of concrete structures such as bridges and the technology is used in various parts of the world to erect quake-resistant buildings.

"Preparing the bridge by carbon fibres that are one-seventh lighter than iron saves time and efforts," he noted.

It is expected that carbon fibres will be used in future as material for shielding against electromagnetic interference and as an intelligent material telling you of the possible damages in building structures utilising its conductivity. It is also expected to be widely used in building and in the civil engineering fields.

He highlighted that serious efforts are made in many countries to develop the technology to use carbon fibres for building material, and the use of carbon fibres as one of the main structural components in bridge building is widely accepted in many parts of the world.