IIT Hyderabad comes up with solution to strengthen bridges, buildings

The FRP strengthening method is said to be a more efficient method than concrete and steel jacketing. It gives high strength and stiffness-to-weight ratios compared to the other techniques, claims IIT Hyderabad.

IIT Hyderabad comes up with solution to strengthen bridges, buildings

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has come up with a hybrid fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening technique to improve the strength and ductility of civil infrastructure like bridges. The FRP strengthening method is said to be a more efficient method than concrete and steel jacketing. It gives high strength and stiffness-to-weight ratios compared to the other techniques, claims IIT Hyderabad.

The method can be use to increase the service life of any infrastructure by around 20 years with marginal cost, the IIT Hyderbad claimed. It further stated that the strength and ductility of structural elements can be improved without increasing the weight using this method. The research focuses on understanding the shape, size, slenderness effect on the FRP strengthening. The IIT Hyderabad researchers study also led to the development of Indian Standards on guidelines for FRP strengthening, which is presently being made. The method was developed at professor S Suriya Prakash’s CASTCON Lab at IIT Hyderabad.

"The preservation and extension of service life of the existing civil infrastructure are essential for fueling our country’s economic growth. At the same time, this innovation developed by Prof Suriya and his team leads to optimum utilization of the strengthening materials. It is cost-effective for increasing the longevity of civil infrastructure. This has once again demonstrated IITH’s zeal to contribute to serving society at large, through Inventing and Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)," B Murty, director of IIT Hyderabad. 

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