Rehabilitation, Upgrading and Repair of Historic Timber Structures with Polymer Concrete and FRP-Reinforcement

Historic load bearing structures are often made of timber. The repair of elements, deteriorated by biotical influences or an upgrade for new fields of application with higher loads can require special solutions and methods in rehabilitation. Several studies with new technologies and materials for restoration and strengthening have been carried out at the Bauhaus University Weimar. Reinforcement and repair was realized by high performance materials in direct bond with timber. An epoxy based resin with diverse mineral fillings was used to create a material with high strength and good adhesivity. The properties of this material can be adapted by the fillings in accordance to the application. This can be used for instance as Polymer Concrete (PC) with high stiffness and compression strength. Further materials are Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) with high tension strength for the use as reinforcement or glued-in rods to link structural elements.