DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A COMPOSITE MATERIAL INDUSTRIAL BUILDING

摘要

An industrial building made of composite materials was constructed at Weston, West Virginia. The building will be used as a multi-purpose facility by West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways. The building will also house equipment for installation and maintenance of pavement markings and signs. The main design requirements, set by West Virginia Department of Transportation, were noncorrosiveness, low maintenance, fast erection and environmental durability. The building is 12.31 m long, 6.45 m wide and 4.31 m high. The entire wall system is made of 610 mm wide and 140 mm thick multi-cellular fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) sections connected with 152 × 152 × 5 mm FRP wide flange sections. All FRP sections were made of E-glass fibers and polyester resin, and were manufactured by pultrusion. The multi-cellular sections were manufactured from an existing die with efficient bi-directional fiber architecture. Multi-cellular sections were tested at West Virginia University labs to characterize mechanical properties. The procedure for assembly of wall modules, foundation details, erection techniques, construction technology, and cost evaluation of the FRP building is presented. A realistic assessment of FRP construction and a comparison with conventional construction is presented. This work evaluates the potential of FRP structural shapes for industrial building construction.