FRP Architectural handbook

HOW TO DESIGN WITH
AN ARCHITECTURAL HANDBOOK
keesuytenhout | rensottens | sjoerdkeetels
FRP

2 3
Written and edited by:
Kees Uytenhout 1516159
Rens Ottens 4052293
Sjoerd Keetels 4002652
With special credits to:
Job Schroën
Benthem Crouwel Architects
Pierre Mostert
Structural Design Graduation Student
Mark Verbaten
ABT BV Consulting Engineers
Mick Eekhout
Octatube Design & Manufacturer Engineers
Pieterjan Dwarshuis
Holland Composites BV Manufacturer
Thijs Van Riemsdijk
Holland Composites BV Manufacturer
An assignment for:
AR0533 Innovation and Sustainability
Designer’s manual
Welcome to the first in a series of ‘How to design
with’, being developed to provide professional
experience and information from architects,
consultants, researchers and manufacturers of
certain building material.
This Architectural Handbook is dedicated to the
building material FRP, or ‘fibre-reinforced polymers’.
It provides an overview of applications in façade
and structural designs, focussing on design aspects
of FRP and how to deal with an adaption of FRP
in the building industry as a ‘conventional’ building
material. Its purpose is to provide a common
understanding of issues and good practice
requirements, helping to bridge knowledge gaps
between the architects and experts that already
work their whole life in FRP, yet in other industries.
But this manual gives the architect also some
encouragement to work with this relatively new
material in Architecture and how to deal with all
stakeholders that are involved in this conservative
business.
The manual covers all key areas relevant to those
involved with architectural design in FRP. Gained
insight information from responsible participants
show critical feedback to diverse case studies.
While we are in the middle of a movement where
new production techniques in our industry are
being discovered, such as new digital fabrication
and new materials it is necessary to implement this
in a relative conservative industry.
We are proud to have developed this manual
in association with our industry partners. This
architectural handbook would not have been
possible without the valuable comments and
support of Benthem & Crouwel, ABT, Holland
Composites and TU Delft.
Our mission is to inspire architects and contribute in
a development in the right direction in the building
industry.
We hope that you find the content of this manual
valuable in your work.
PREFACE
Yours sincerely,
Kees Uytenhout
Rens Ottens
Sjoerd Keetels
Students Building Technology
at Delft University of Technology
Faculty of Architecture and
the Built environment
Delft, june 2015

4 5
QUICK START
DESIGN MANUAL
FRP
IN BUILDING
APPLICATIONS
WHO designs with FRP
WHAT is important to know about FRP
WHERE do you need to think about with FRP
WHY in Architecture
HOW to design with FRP
FAÇADE
STRUCTURAL
CLIMATE
Panels
Sandwich constructions
External reinforced structeres
Internal reinforced structures
Building component
Underground
Climatic & Installation equipment
>>

6 7
designs with FRP
Application Industries
The adapting of composites in Architecture
becomes more and more usual and will be
treated as a conventional building material just
like concrete, steel and wood. From origin it is
developed in the aerospace industry and it is also a
well used building material in the naval architecture
and automotive industry.
Main difference is the budget each project gets in
an industry. Architecture is a big market, but also a
lower budget market. This is the reason a composite
structure is not the first building material you want
to use. It can be ranged in a higher segment. The
building industry nowadays mainly use glass
fibres to make the composite competitive enough
against other building materials. However high
performance composites are possible too in some
niches, like extreme high-rise or building on water.
Aerospace
Maritime
Industrial
Automotive
Architecture
Energy
WHO WHY in Architecture
Material Properties
When created designs are not easy to make in
materials like concrete, steel or wood it probably
is in composites. New forms not earlier seen in
designs before can be realised without undoing to
the wishes of the client.
Besides the design users also appreciate the
technical properties of FRP such as insulation,
possibility of using façade as blocking instrumental
for directly incoming sunlight.
When façades are hard to reach it is also pleasant
there is a minimum of maintenance necessary. If
there is a small budget or a building needs to be
build in a short time on site, composite structures
contribute to this demand through its lightness
and pre-fab elements can be mounted quickly.

8 9
WHAT
Fire Safety
To ensure the structural maintenance of the material
at elevated temperatures it is necessary to add a
chemical finishing. With the new euro standards
instead of the dutch NEN standards it is more
difficult, but keep in mind that aircrafts are also
fire safe and have to deal with high temperatures.
There are also a variety of resins that burn less, but
they are more expensive than epoxy.
Thermal Expansion
The thermal expansion is comparable with
aluminium. Although the expansion will not be
seen, rather a warp in case of a composite element.
This is because the outside of the element heats up
through sun radiation, but the inside environment
remains around 20 degrees celsius. Tension will be
built up and a warp of the panel is the result. An
extension of the material is only possible when the
whole object would be placed in a oven.
Stiffness
Specifically seen carbon fibre has by far the
highest stiffness of all materials compared to its
own weight. Although steel has a higher stiffness,
carbon is specifically seen stiffer which mean a
bigger span can be made. When composite gets
stiffer, smoother surfaces can be created and less
deformation can be expected through heating.
Durability
Technically composite structures should be last
for hundred years but you also have to deal with
the finishing. It is comparable with a conventional
building material that need to be treated. The
advantage of composites is that it will not rot, so it
will last a lot longer than a painted wooden window
frame.
Sustainability
The sustainability of composites depends on the
lifecycle. If a building needs to stand for 100 years,
than it is better to make it out of composite than
out of wood. Wood can come out of an ecobos
but it still need to treated every five years with a
coating or paint job. If it is a temporary building it is
not smart to use a composite structure unless the
building is moveable or demountable and parts
can be re-used. In the indoor environment where
furniture has a lifecycle of approximate 5 to 10 years
bio-composites are a solution, but not in the outside
environment where the weather has influence to
the material. These kind of composites will rot away
in a few years if it is not chemically coated properly
which is not that kind of sustainable.
Finishing & Maintenance
The colour of the paint job and the form of an
element in a façade is important. When chosen
for a smooth white surface, the building needs to
be cleaned just like yachts. If panels gets a grey
colouring for example and is design in a smart form
dirt will not be recognised or much later which
mean less maintenance.
Strength
FRP are extremely strong strings, when used for
tensile loads. You don’t want use the materials for
compression loads, where as the matrix bears for
these loads. The material should be applied in the
sections where only tensile resistance is required.
Structural
FRP is mostly applied on the outer lower side of
a construction, because it does not corrode and
is capable of bearing tensile stresses. Biggest
challenge of construction with FRP is the stiffness
of the structure. This can be improved by adding
material or geometry.
Transport
Most building components have to be divided
for transport. With road transport a maximum size
of 3,5 by 15 meters is allowed. When the building
stands near the water it is also possible to divided
the components in bigger dimensions, but mostly
the only solution is by road transport.
Impact force
Because FRP is mostly applied on the outside of
a component, we need to consider impact forces.
A solution is applying the lamella with the near
surface mounted method. This method places the
FRP in the covering layer of the construction.
is important to know about FRP

10 11
WHAT
Weight
In the aerospace and car industries the ratio
between weight and strength is very important. In
the building industry the weight does not matter
that much, as it is already a relatively lightweight
material. The big advantage of low weight façades
is a smaller main structure, which is responsible for
a third of the total building costs.
Moisture
One of the key aspects of material exposed to
outside conditions is the resistancy to moisture. The
way a composite is made is crucial to guarantee
quality and a high resistance to outside conditions.
Air bubbles in a composite can lead to failure if the
moisture inside freezes.
Insulation
The benefit of composite sandwich panels is that
you can achieve high insulation values. What you
can not always assure with using foam insulation
is fire safety. PIR foam insulation is an example
of insulation material that has been used in the
building industry. The question remains if it is a
sustainable use of material. New research still must
prove if natural materials can be used as insulation
for composite sandwich panels.
Acoustics
A nice flat composite wall can look great but sound
bad. The reflective wall will cause bad acoustics,
mostly important inside a building. To prevent
this from happening a porous material should be
added to absorb some of the sound pressure. On
the outside of the building this is much harder,
since porous material easily rots.
Costs
Compared to traditional building materials most
FRP for building purposes is still more expensive.
One of the reasons is the extensive material usage
while it’s not necessary, but done to satisfy the
rules. Costs might go down in the future with new
rules. Glass fibre is still one of the cheapest usable
fibres. More expensive fibres should not be used
when it’s not necessary.
Fibres
Choosing between fibres is a delicate manner
and mostly done by specialists. Each fibre has it’s
own properties you can exploit. If you use filament
winding as production method, organic fibres are
already excluded for their lack continuity.
Resin
There are around 1000 different types of epoxy
with their own properties and around 10 different
fibres that are used a lot. There are many hundreds
of polyersters, vinylesters, etc.
Assembly
The common way to use FRP in the building
sector is by panelling. These panels need to be
assembled on site, or in some cases as test at the
manufacturer. The way the elements are mounted
can be a big discussion between the contracter
and the manufacturers. The last ones seem to be
less conservative.
Joints
The FRP façade elements can be joined in different
way’s, according to the needs of the façade. It is
possible to do some joining work on site, but that
is very difficult and time consuming.
(Dis)advantages
The biggest advantage of FRP is at the same time
it’s biggest disadvantage: the material is only very
strong in tension. At least, the fibres are, but with
the resin it can also handle some compressive
loads. Being a lightweight, strong material there
are a lot of advantages to difficult shapes. On the
other hand there are questions if the material is
sustainable and fire resistant.
Life Cycle
The difference between synthetic and natural
based composites is it’s life cycle. Biocomposites
degrade and should be used in situations where a
short life span is expected. Synthetic composites
can be used where the life span is big and should
be made properly to really live long.
is important to know about FRP

12 13
WHERE
Interests
The difficult adaption of composites in the building
industry is not only because it is an unknown
material in this business, but also because al lot of
stockholders are involved in projects which makes
it complex to work with new materials.
Contractor
A reason could be that the contractor has its own
carpenter or steel farmer and thinks this becomes
part of purchase which mean he cannot involve his
own people, so less sales volume at the end. The
contractor will do everything about it to prevent
this and will do everything in his power to get
maximum business for himself. This way of acting
can only be stopped if the client will not listen to
the contractor.
Consultants
It is probably well known for the architect there
are also a lot of specialists involved and each of
them has there own opinion and agenda. Normally
it is difficult enough to deal with so many people,
but to convince people to use FRP is even
harder. They are used to work with conventional
building materials and do not like to change there
calculating programmes or give there guarantees
to a construction that has not proved itself yet.
Client & the Manufacturer
To prevent this kind of conservative approach it
is necessary the client has a good understanding
with possible manufacturers of composite
structures, so that the client can be convinced
that FRP sometimes can contribute to a better
design than other building materials. In the past
the architect had control of this but has lost this
important influence in the process. However the
architect can be the link between the client and
the manufacturer.
do you need to think about with FRP
Expectation
If a building would be build up out of bricks,
concrete or other façade material with a rough
surface, then it is common accepted that it will
get dirty, crumbled or other imperfections. Mostly
people even like this. However with composites
people expect the perfection of a super-yacht, but
it is a building. A super-yacht includes also always
a team that comes to clean every month. There is
simply not enough budget in the building industry
to come close to the segment of naval architecture.
The budget in a normal housing project it is around
€1000 per square meter, while a boat needs this
amount of cash alone for the finishing of one
square meter.
I want
FRP!
Bad
completion!

14 15
HOW
Standards & Guidelines
For the building industry there is a special guideline
for composites namely the keur 96. Unfortunately it
is very conservative with its safety factor which a lot
of manufactures suffers from. In practice elements
appeared to be sometimes ten times stronger
then necessary but because it is hard to test a
whole building everything needs to be proved with
theoretic calculations. By this over dimensioning
the material often is also ten times more expensive
which hold back a breakthrough of composites
in the building industry. When elements can
engineered tighter it is really competitive to other
building materials. That is why mock-ups are really
important to actually built it and test it to convince
authorities and other involved stakeholders it is
possible with less material.
New standards are in development, but the
problem is that authorities make a difference in
manufacturing methods.
Production Methods
Pre-preg is a method where a matrix material such
as epoxy is already present and the fibres are
pre-impregnated. Much more costly tooling and
knowledge is required, which mostly only used in
the aerospace industry. The final product will cost
much more, but can have also a higher quality. The
problem is there is an enormous scatter in quality,
which results in divergent strength. So a high-
tech manufacturing method does not imply the
final strength of the element. If the manufacturer
does his job well, high-tech should be better than
handmade composite structures. But with high-
tech methods such as pre-preg, many things can
go wrong while manufacturing. Also high-tech
manufacturing is a real precise method which
can result in extremely strong and light products.
However, it is not the solution for projects in the
building industry.
The weight of a handmade composite element is
already light enough for building projects and the
process is less time consuming in comparison to
the hot injection and pre-preg process and the
added value for pre-preg preparation is at the stage
of the material supplier. Still there are possibilities
to make light high quality composite material
instead of low heavy conventional material. In the
end it appears building elements made out of high
quality products and with high-tech manufacturing
methods also can be competitive compared to
clumsier not optimised products.
do you design with FRP
“
That standard: we do not need such
high safety factors at all, because
we can engineer and manufacture
so tight. We can certificate our
products and proof by testing
standards will satisfy, which allows
us to work with 10% of the material
that was at first instance required.
#Holland Composites#Manufacturer
“
What they also should do is making
a difference in quality of the work
that is done.
“
At the end it all falls back to the
strength per euro and not the weight
per euro.
“
Polymer Matrix Composites
distinguishes in special products,
the political way to convince
others is still a long road, but in
the end buildings can be tighter
engineered a lot. Just dare to take
the negotiation!

16 17
OVERVIEW CASE STUDIESA filament wound pillar for a
pedestrian bridge
01. STEDELIJK MUSEUM
02. GFRP PILAR 05. ENEXIS REGIONAL OFFICES
03. POST REÏNFORCEMENT 06. GAS RECEIVE STATION
04. YITZHAK RABIN CENTRE

18 19
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design
Benthem Crouwel Architects:
“Surface of the bathtub - the façade - should be seamless.”
Project Information
Country | The Netherlands
City | Amsterdam
Finished | 2012
Architects | Benthem Crouwel
Use of FRP | Façade
Current | Architect and founder
September Architecture
Tutor & Coördinator at
TU Delft, department
Architectural Engineering
Previous | Benthem Crouwel
Education | MSc Archtitecture
Delft University of Technology
Interview Job Schroën
Project Architect
19Source: http://www.ahrend.com/

20 21
Job Schroën: “Working with composites is crafting.”
Whereas the old building has straight lines
and corners, Benthem Crouwel decided that the
new one should have smooth, curved lines. And as
the old is highly ornamented, the new should be
simple.
After the idea were created to make a white bathtub
that would be a perfectly smooth contrast with
the rough brickwork of the old building, it was Job
Schroën who actually was responsible for realising
this project.
Job Schroën Fibres Thermal Expansion
Documentation
An inescapable decision to make the façade
out of many little pieces seemed to be the only
solution. However Schroën found the solution by
discovering a special material property of carbon
fibre namely a negative thermal expansion with the
elevation of temperature. It appeared that when
Aramide fibres and Carbon fibres combined with
the resin the coefficient of expansion become zero.
With this invention composite material seemed to
be the solution to comply the architects vision.
The decision to make the façade out of
fibre reinforced polymers comes out the problem
of thermal expanding. To comply with the vision of
a seamless bathtub the panels had to be extremely
large.
At first instant Schroën wanted to use aluminium,
but this material would expand too much with
the elevation of temperature. If the façade would
be made out of one piece, it would expand 30
cm. This means the construction needed to move
along with the façade.
“It appeared that when aramide fibres
combined and carbon fibres combined
with the resin the coefficient of expansion
become zero.”
#Production#Fibres
Source: http://openbuildings.com/buildings/stedelijk museum-profile-44388#
Section old & new stedelijk museum
View old new stedelijk museum View part new stedelijk museum
Section part new stedelijk museum

22 23
The manufacturer Holland Composites
was not used to transport such panels. Normally
this kind of product is applied in other disciplines
where they are using ships or planes to transport
this product sizes like these. On the road the size is
limited to the capability load of a truck.
Fire Safety
Theresinandthefoaminbetweenisbasically
life-dangerous if it catches fire. Same situation is
created with a concrete sandwich construction,
namely a cavity fire. The dangerousness of this
situation is not only fire itself but also do not have
the ability to extinguish the cavity fire, because it
is closed within two panels of FRP. Finally when
the fire gets to the FRP panel another dangerous
situation will arise. Job Schroën: “I cannot bear
thinking about a jet of burning liquid plastic
dripping down a crowd.” That is why we chose for a
thermoset plastic Polyisocyanurate foam. PIR foam
is nonflammable, structural and functions also as
insulation.
Acoustics
Inside the building there is some extra
material towards acoustics. To improve the
reverberation time a porous material is needed. If
there is one thing that pollutes quickly then it is a
rough surface. That is why there is chosen to use
as less as needed acoustical stucco and only in the
inside environment.
Source: http://www.stedelijk.nl/
Source: http://www.
stedelijk.nl/
On the one hand the form of the panels
are produced as a result of the function of the
building. At the same time a mould is expensive
to make. That is why every corner has the same
radius. If the whole building were double curved
there were different amount of moulds needed
which would make the building way expensive. It
is very interesting to deal with this in a smart way.
Understanding how composite materials work is
essential to fulfil such a project.
Working with FRP seems High Tech, but it is actually
if you’re back in The Middle Ages. The mould might
be made High Tech, but then it is basically just
labour with stinking mire and a roller to bond the
fibreglass.
Transport
“I cannot bear thinking about a jet of
burning liquid plastic dripping down a
crowd.”
#Production#FireSafety
“Working with FRP seems High Tech, but
it is actually if you’re back in The Middle
Ages. The mould might be made High
Tech, but then it’s basically just labour
with stinking mire and a roller to bond the
fibreglass.”

#Production#Mould
Unfortunately there appeared two big new
problems. One of them were that all Aramide
fibres are monopolized by The United States Army
for bulletproof vests in Iraq. And if there was the
possibility to be able to get these fibres it was for
extremely high prices of 2000 €/m2. To realise
a building project like this, fibrous materials like
Carbon and Aramide are too expensive. You need
to have a real crazy and above all a good reason to
actually use exotic materials like Aramide.
Nevertheless The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
has these fibres, because the producer of Aramide
fibres called the client and came with the proposal
to sponsor this project, because they never
supplied this material for applications like this.
“All Aramide fibres are monopolized by
The United States Army for bulletproof
vests in Iraq.”
#Production#Fibres
Mould
Seamless Bathtub
Seamless Bathtub
Seamless Bathtub
Source: http://www.detail-online.com/
Source: http://www.compositesworld.com/
Source: http://www.detail-online.com/
Panels
Interior
Interior

24 25
At first instant the manufacturer Holland
Composites chose to construct the roof out of one
element that could be hooked in one time, which
would make the canopy self-supporting including
an integrated water drainage within this element.
The manufactures try to convince the consultants
and the contractor that this solution was faster
and in the end also cheaper. But unfortunately the
consultants did not have the experience with this
kind of large constructive elements made out of
fibre reinforced polymers. So they did not wanted to
give their guarantee that this hooked construction
would not fall off. That is why these engineers rather
stayed with their trusted conventional building
materials. Construction supervision wanted to
see test results which are hard to prove. Also the
contractor saw nothing in this plan, because it
would reduce its business in the project.
Now there is chosen for a steel construction and
a composite cladding, while according to the
manufacturer a lot of heavy construction could
have been reduced if elements such as the canopy
were self-supporting. Because it is a large cantilever,
constructers also needed big trusses which were
cladded with multiplex to make a roofing. A lot of
material is needed and problems as leaking came
up.
Also for the manufacturer it was easier to make it
out of one piece, because now they had to mount
it on site real precisely with a lot of adjustment
tools. Because of this difficulty the invoice got a
lot higher.
The sandwich panels has to be connected
on site. Installing these large sandwich panels asks
a proper assembly skills. Which season of the year
is important to take into account because of the
thermal expansion of the material. In winter it has
to be mounted differently than in summer.
When assembled correctly, the joints are visible. In
the Naval industry it would be normal to countersink
the screws or other irregular surfaces so they can
be covered with putty. After that it can be sanded
and the surface will be seamless.
Unfortunately the way they deal naval architecture
is too expensive to apply in architecture industry.
That is why only the joints where the panels
connect to each other can be treated this way.
To ensure the surface will be seamless just as the
outside of a ship it is necessary to use a two meter
longboard as sanding tool. This object is this large
such that the surface is as smooth as possible.
“The challenge lies in creating the
same stiffness at the joint as the panel,
otherwise it will buckle at the joint. Vice
versa if the joint gets a higher stifness,
their will be buckling in the panel.”
#Assembly#Joint
“The client chose to design it in this way
but in the end it could have saved him
a lot of trouble and money when a self-
supporting FRP element was chosen.”
#Assembly#Costs
Assembly Joint
“Despite that we are working with
composites and high performance yachts
for dozens of years and knowing what the
boundaries of composite materials are,
we are still in a industry where FRP just
started to be discovered.”
#Assembly#Experience
Pre-finishing
Sanding joint
Source: http://www.bouwwereld.nl/
Source: http://www.vanrossumbv.nl/
Source: http://www.teijinaramid.com/Fibres
New construction
Steel truss for canopy
Mounting panels using vacuum clamps
Only visable joint
Source: http://www.clairepotterdesign.com/
Smooth surface
Source: http://brasilart.org/

26 27
Interview Pierre Mostert
Master Student BT TU Delft
27
Current | MSc Building Technology
Education | BSc Architecture
Mark Verbaten:
“Stifness is the controling factor, when designing with FRP”
GFRP Pillar
A filament wound pillar for a pedestrian bridge
Project Information
Country | Netherlands
City | Delft
Finished | yet to graduate...
Designer | Pierre Mostert
Use of FRP | Structural pillar
(source: Master thesis draft report by Pierre Mostert)

28 29
39 |
Fig. 43: 1:5 technical details of the top and bottom elements showing
the elements in steel with the bolted on connectors. At the top, the
support can be mounted. The bottom element can be bolted to a concrete
base.
What I make is a pillar, but in the end I want
to develop a principle to make pressurized columns
with this technique. In this case it is a little bridge,
but in the end I imagine the idea in a bigger station
hall.
The shape of the pillar is made by the continuous
roving of glass fibre strings from one connectiong
element to the other. The shape is defined by the
rotation of one of the connecting elements. I have
a rotation of 33%, or 1/3 radial. I chose this because
I like the shape, but if you rotate it too much, the
structure will look more like an hourglass. The shape
will then be too slender in the middle.
“There is so little knowledge on the faculty
about this subject while in other industries
they use it for high quality products.”
#GFRP#Graduation
A filament wound pillar for a pedestrian bridge
Pierre is a ‘Building Technology’ Master
student at the TU Delft graduating on the subject
of GFRP (Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer) pillars.
The fact there is little knowledge about the use
of FRP in the building industry inspired Pierre
to graduate on this subject. He hopes to gain
knowledge on the properties of other materials as
well by studying FRP: “I want to learn more about
this complex material, because then it’s easier to
understand materials as steel and wood.”
Pierre Mostert The Project
Documentation
| 40
Fig. 44: 1:5 technical top elevation. Most of the
intersections are not visible as they run under the top
element. Pn = 19 and Pnx = 6.
| 16
Figure: GFRP Pillars
Figure: GFRP Pillars
Figure: Detail of the connection element

30 31
the force to weight ratio. The logical explanation
of course is that the one with rings is significantly
stronger. With rings the column handles a
maximum of 1100 kg; without rings it is 500 kg. But
it is not completely fair. Without rings the nodes
are just fibres touching each other. With rings I
push the nodes together which probably makes
the interaction of the bundles much stronger. That
is even more important than the strength of the
rings. The rings do not want to twist that much,
which ensures that the nodes bend less easily. This
causes a change in the shape factor in the buckling
formula going down from 1.
The cool thing about these columns is that they
are transparent. I wanted as little nodes as possible.
That why I’m not satisfied with the rings.
“Filament winding is one of the few
techniques which can go up to 70% of fibres,
but then we talk about space shuttles and not
about winding a little column.”
#Production#FireSafety
With a compressive load the formula for
buckling plays an important role. You want to make
a slender profile. You don’t want to make a block
of composite, that’s a little crazy. With a block the
compressive yield is relatively small to what it can
bend. It’s the strongest in tension, then in bending,
because bending has a lot to do with tension.
Buckling test
What you test with buckling is the Young’s Modulus,
which I have tested myself. You do that by pulling.
Testing the Young’s Modulus for a composite
happens with the ‘Rule of Mixture’, So in the end
the fibres do most of the job within the material,
also under compressive load.
It bends and then it breaks. The fibres will break
first, because they are stiffer than the polyester.
I put a point load on the column, leveled, so the
column is loaded without excentricity. Then you
push till it fails.To be able to know the shear stressess
you have to know how the connections work and
that’s something for a couple of PhD’s.
The ‘Fibre Volume Fraction’ is what it’s all about
when you work with composites. With these
prototypes it is around 30% of fibres. Filament
winding is one of the few techniques which can go
up to 70% of fibres, but then we talk about space
shuttles and not about winding a little column.
This is approximately the ideal force to surface
ratio. When you imagine pulling a soap bell you will
get this shape, created by the surface tension. It is
comparable with what Gaudi did with the chains.
Strength test
Together with my mentor I decided to make two
smaller columns of the same size: one with rings
and one without rings. I wanted to know how strong
they were relative to each other, so I normalized
Figure: Pulling a soup bell results in a specific shape
(source: http://i.stack.imgur.com/8Zo0d.jpg)
Figure: Pre- and post testing of a pillar
Figure: Testing machine for the Young’s Modulus
Figure: Reflection on the structural behaviour of a tested pillar (source: Master thesis draft report by Pierre Mostert)
Figure: Formula for buckling
Structural Properties

32 33
Moisture
The composite in my prototypes are not
that good of quality because of air bubbles, which
is not necessary for my study. But if you want to put
one of these outside, moist will go in and when it
freezes, the whole thing will be worthless. Polyester
is not completely waterproof and that’s why they
are still researching.
Production Technique
How a roving machine works is very basic.
It consists of a rotating axis with next to it a
mouthpiece where impregnated fibres come out.
The mouthpiece moves parallel to the rotating axis
and roves the fibres around the axis.
I invented my own technique for making the pillars.
There is not really a mold in my case. The connection
piece is the mold itself.
Good mold are necessary to make good
composites.
Polyester dries within half an hour, but I wanted to
make that longer, so how do you do that? I had to
put in 0.1% of a retarder, so I needed the right tools.
For this one I needed 15 minutes of winding with
help of someone to read the numbers. The other
one needs 20-25 minutes. The first time it took an
hour.
The cowboy’s of composites work a little like me,
with band-aid solutions, which is not enough for
a solid building process. Every time they try, the
company ends up bankrupt. Which is strange
because it’s allready used in the airplane industry
for a longer time.
“The cowboy’s of composites work a little
like me, with band-aid solutions, which is
not enough for a solid building process.”
#Composite#Cowboys
“The biggest advantage of composites is
freedom in form. ”
#Form#Freedom
Resin
With epoxy you need a very precise mixture
of ingrediënts, or else you will get material that is not
solidified. With polyester the process get’s started
by a catalyst and continues untill all molecules are
formed. I choose polyester for it is easily available
and cheap, around 10€ per kilo. To make one of
these columns I need around 500 grams. The
glassfibres I bought were 40€ for 10 kilometer!
Weight
The biggest advantage of composites is
freedom in form. It is fairly easy to make a mold. It’s
also a very light material, which has it’s advantages
when it comes to making a mold. Concrete for
example needs a certain thichness, so it is much
heavier. The weight is an important factor with
lifting up facade panels in high rise buildings. You
don’t want to lift up a concrete panel with a couple
of windows.
Joint
The FRP connects at the top and bottom
to steel elements. These elements are subject
to further research: you can water cut them but
then you have to weld and bend it, so there must
be a better solution. I also made a design with
laser printed connection elements, but they are
not strong enough. The main objective I want to
achieve is to make a whole pillar by machine.
| 4
gantry conguration (vertical axis for mandrel rotation) can have up to six. In these machines the higher amount of axes increase
the precision and the possibility of shapes such as T’s and knees (Advani & Hsiao, 2012). Even higher amount are commercial used
but this is done to increase speed as a second feeder or to create more complex weaving patterns (Peters, 2011). In some machines
it’s not the mandrel that rotates but the machine around it. This can be done in a LOTUS system where the mould is going through
a circular lament feeder allowing for shapes without a rotational axis like a S-shape (Anderson, 2006). Another system is the multi
feed conguration or pull winding conguration where the mould does not move and the bres are spun while pulled. Recently
robotic winding has been introduced using a multipurpose six or seven axes robotic arm with an external axis on which the mandrel
rotates. This seems to be less accurate and frequent calibration might be needed (Advani & Hsiao, 2012; Prado, Dörstelmann,
Schwinn, Menges, & Knippers, 2014).
Filament winding has the possibility to fabricate elements over 50 m in length for wind-turbine wings (Zoltec) or up to 20
meters in diameter for silos (Plasticon). By using a multi feed conguration or a 360 degree ring delivery system semi-continues
tubes can be made, otherwise the technique is bound to discrete production (Advani & Hsiao, 2012).
Fig. 1: Typical wet-winding flatbed configuration
| 2
Fig. 11: A hand wound shape Fig. 12: A digitally wound shape
Fig. 13: The fibre dispencer and resinbath
18:00 and 21:30. The resin started to become tacky after 20 to 30 minutes and in the area where the winders hand touched the
resin the heat speeded up the curing process making the winding even more difcult. The whole process was physically intensive
and the time limit made the process mentally intensive too.
The resulting models can be divided in two generations. The rst is to determine the location of the bre bundles and their
effect on the overall shape. The second generation is used to optimize and preform structural analysis.
Figure: Typical wet-winding flatbed configuration
Figure: Pierre’s fibre dispencer and resin bath machine
Figure: Pierre’s working area
(source: Master thesis draft report by Pierre Mostert)|
the wooden ring was around 3 to 4 cm to allow for a strong screwed joint.
The models are named as follows: A letter for the model type, numerical order of winding per type and as a whole. For
example A5(8) is the last A type model wound and the eighth of the whole model manufacturing sequence.
For the pillars with the circular reinforcements additional circular mould elements are made. All 11 of these elements had
individual diameters and angles (g 87). The segments were cut in two equal parts to allow extraction after curing, the upper part
had to be cut in three due to the limited space. The elements were extracted through the bottom element. The connection of the
two mould parts was done by small elastic bands. The force created by these bands caused the friction to hold the elements xed on
the cardboard tube. The tube was cut in two segments at the waist of the column. All parts of the mould were cleaned, sanded and
Fig. 88: Testing and adjusting the moulds for the type B testing
samples.
Fig. 89: Prepairing the type B samples was labour intensive and time
consuming. For the final day a fellow student assisted.

34 35
“The problem is that composites are not
the best when it comes to fire. It’s crucial
in the building sector.”
#Fire#Safety
The problem is that composites are not the
best when it comes to fire. It’s crucial in the building
sector. That’s why I design a small bridge outside,
with less fire regulations.
Good polyester will serve great till 110 degrees C.
There is also formaldehyde which can go higher,
but it is harder to process.
Composites will not be used structurally, untill they
find a solution with fire. Then nobody can stop us.
You could use external things such as sprinkler
installations, but I think that’s a little weak. To
overcome the moment of fire and the moment
when the sprinkler system is turned on you have to
use so much material, it is not clever to do anymore.
The design requires continuous roving,
which is not possible with natural fibres, because
the fibres have insufficient lengths. You can use
steel threads for this, but not in making a composite.
Extra notes from Pierre: Remember that
composites are not just one material. There are
around 1000 different types of epoxy with their own
properties and around 10 different fibres that are
used a lot. There are many hundreds of polyersters,
vinylesters, etc.
One of the difficulties for me was getting the
5 different materials needed. When you have
ordered the material and you are not at home, they
delivery company has to send it back to where it
came from, because they are not allowed to store
chemical and inflammable material.
DIY tip. I ordered latex gloves, but they broke all the
time, so I needed thicker gloves, like Breaking Bad.
DoyouwanttoknowmoreaboutPierre’sgraduation
project? You can contact him on LinkedIn:
https://nl.linkedin.com/pub/pierre-mostert/
a6/1aa/649
Fire Safety
Natural fibres
Further Information
27 |
5.1.1. Parameters
The rough shape derives from multiple variables and the relation between them is modelled and investigated in a Grasshopper
model. The parameters in this model are (g 14):
a. The distance between the top and bottom plane (H)
a. The radii of the top and bottom circles (rtop
and rbot
)
b. The amount of connection points on the circles (Pn), determines the amount of bundles
c. The angle of the bundle determined by the shift of connection points when crossing between the top and bottom circle (Pnx)
The aim was to design an open structure consisting of bundles instead of creating a closed surface. Pn was kept constant
during the experiments as variation could be achieved by selecting which points to use and which not. The Pn was 60 as it could be
equally distributed over 3, 4, 5, and 6 sides.
5.1.2. First generation
The distinctive parameters of the rst generation are the shape, size and number of the outer moulds and the points the
bundle shifts on one mould element. The distance between the moulds (H) was primarily set to 33 cm. The models are described
chronologically. The process started without a clear direction or scale.
Figure 15 shows the rst model made with the atbed winding conguration. First some polar windings are done, then by
increasing the winding angle, some helical windings. Not all connection points (Pn) of the square and circular mould are used.
Figure 16 shows the model where all connection points are used in a systematic polar winding path. The moulds where not
aligned properly and the shapes of the moulds minimized interaction between the different bundles.
Figure 17 shows smaller bundles used to form larger bundles in an open structure. The shape would not have aesthetic value
derived specically from its production technique.
Figure 18 shows a combination of systematic polar windings and secondary helical windings to compress the bundles for bre
rbot
H
rtop
Pn
Pn,x
Fig. 14: The shaping parameters of the pillar
Figure: Pierre’s system for winding

36 37
Interview Mark Verbaten
Senior specialist civil enginering
Mark Verbaten:
37
ABT
Consulting engineers
Project Information
Country | the Netherlands
City | multiple
Finished | 2008
Design firm | ABT
Use of FRP | Columns
Project Information
City | Rotterdam
Finished | 2015
Design firm | Allies & Morrison
Use of FRP | Flooring
Project Information
City | Hilversum
Finished | 2012
Design firm | ABT
Use of FRP | Flooring
Current | Senior specialis civil
enginering ABT bv
Task Group 9.3 ‘FRP for
Concrete Structures
Stufib structural concrete
TUD COST Action
TU1207
Previous | Advisor civil enginering
ABT bv
Education | Hogeschool van Arnhem en
Nijmegen
(source: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markverbaten)
(source: http://www.cementonline.nl)

38 39
Introduction: Postproces of reinforcements with FRP
Mark is working as a structural engineer at
ABT Velp. He is specialized in damage research,
second opinions and advanced modelling in the
field of concrete structures. Thereby he has expert
knowledge on reinforcement of concrete structure
with CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer).
Mark has an experience of eight years in the
niche market of FRP (Fibre Reinforced Polymer
reinforcement). Lamellas are quick and easy to apply. The NSM
(Near Surface Mounding) method is often used. It
is possible to implement saw cuts on the lower side
of the floor or they can be glued with epoxy resin
to the lower surface (see fig. 3). It is mostly used in
the situation where fibres should be orientated in
one direction. The fibres are orientated accurately
in the factory, which makes them very effective in
one direction.
Sheets are not so quick and easy to apply.
The sheets are very flexible and it is almost
impossible to attach it on the ceiling, this method
is less efficient. With the hand layup method you
cannot place the fibres very accurate. The fibre is
always placed a bit crooked on the surface. The
FRP has to deform, before the fibres reach their
maximum tensile strength. On the other hand
sheets are giving you a lot of freedom in form and
you can apply it where it is most efficient. The fibres
can be oriented in multiple directions.
The carbon fibre sheet wrapped around
a concrete column is an example of raising the
ductility.
The mechanical properties can be explained with
the example of a vacuum formed package of coffee.
The unopened package acts like a brick, because
of the present ring tension. The pressure difference
is pressing the outside air against the package
surface, which compresses the coffee. With this
mechanism it is possible to preform normal forces
on the package of coffee.
The same mechanism will work for concrete
columns. When you will compress a column it
“Quick and easy reinforcement on the
outside layer of the construction”

#Reinforcement#Lamella
Mark Verbaten
figure: applying carbon stripes with epoxy
(source: http://bsharp55.wix.com)
tabel: showing properties of different materials
(source: http://www.build-on-prince.com)
figure: Fibre Reinforced Polymer bars
figure: Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer strips
figure: Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer sheet
Type and reasons of FRP reinforcements for
concrete constructions
Assembly
Mechanical Properties
Material Properties
Documentation
FRP are extremely strong strings, when used
for tensile loads. You don’t want use the materials
for compression loads, where as the matrix bears for
these loads. The material should be applied in the
sections where only tensile resistance is required.
We are reinforcing concrete constructions for 30
years now. Nowadays it is a general application and
there are still lots of developments.
FRP can be assembled in the form of lamella,
straps, bars or sheets. Al three forms have different
adventages.
The are six reasons for applying FRP reinforcements:
- Raising bend resistance by using fibres, which
are paralell orientated to the span of the beam.
- Raising the shear resistance by using fibres, which
are orthogonal orientated to the span of the beam.
- Raising the ductility of the end sections of the
columns and beams by wrapping the section.
- Improving of welding- and interlock connections
by wrapping the section.
- Preventing the reinforcement in columns of
hatching by wrapping the section.
- Raising the tensile resistance of column- beam
connections or stabilizing walls by adding
fibres paralell to the maintensile stresses in the
construction.
figure: Reinforcement of concrete column- beam
connection.
(source: http://www.structuraltechnologies.com)

40 41
wants to spread in horizontal direction. Through a
shortening in the vertical direction, the concrete has
to flow elsewhere and it is possible in the horizontal
direction.
When you lock up a wooden water reservoir with
steel strips, the carbon sheets are also locking the
concrete. The strength of the concrete does not
increase. The outcome is the triple axle tension
that originates. The concrete can no longer escape
in horizontal direction. In this situation the tensile
strength of FRP is used very specific.
The application method is most effective for
round shaped concrete columns. When applying
the sheets on square shaped concrete columns
internal compression bows will appear, there are
zones which are not under the earlier mentioned
triple axle tension conditions.
We use mostly Carbon fibres, because the stiffness
is much higher compared to other fibres. Glass fibre
has an E-modulus of 65 - 70 *103
N/mm2
, where as
Carbon fibre has an E-modulus of 160 - 240 *103
N/
mm2
.
Impact force
Regulatory
Fire Safety
When looking to the lower side of a bridge,
you will always discover stripes. This is due to the
damage of too high passing trucks.
When applying lamella with epoxy resin on the
lower side of the surface of a bridge, there is the
possibility they will get damaged as well. A solu-
tion is applying the lamella with the near surface
mounted method. This method can be applied in
the covering layer, because carbon does not cor-
rode.
“Carbon fibres are the most stiff fibres,
that is why we use them so often.”
#Usage#Fibres
“Sheet reinforcement is comparable with
a package of coffee”

#Forces#Normal_language
“Passing trucks will damage normal FRP
lamella”
#Assembly#Trucks
The concrete construction should be
able to handle the fire safety standards, without
the reinforcement of FRP. When the concrete
construction is not capable enough, other solutions
will be adding fireproof protection. The FRP will not
add any value for the fire safety standards.
ThereisaDutchwrittenstandardcalledCUR-
aanbeveling 91, which is based on research. The
standard describes frequently used applications
with standardized calculations. Two editions have
been published. The first edition is published in
2002 and the second in 2007. The second edition is
starting to get dated, so the are developing a third
edition. The Near Surface Mounted method and
the carbon reinforcement grid will be integrated in
the new edition.
There is also an international written standard called
FIP. STU-FIP is Dutch branch of this association.
Aanbeveling 91
figure: Package of Coffee
(source: http://www.de.nl)
figure: CFRP lamellas applied with epoxy on
concrete flooring
(source: www.dostkimya.com)
Figure: Oil burner test of fireproof GFRP.
(source: www.fire.tc.faa.gov)
figure: written standard for reinforcing with FRP
(source: http://www.cur-aanbevelingen.nl/)
figure: Circular and Square Concrete Columns
Externally Confined by CFRP.
(source: http://www.intechopen.com)
figure: Reinforcement of concrete round column with
Carbon fibre sheets.
(source: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov)

42 43
We are using the earlier named written standards
in most of the projects. In case the reinforcement
degree deviates from the standards, we have to
rely on research. In the situation of one project
we have used research done in Switzerland. We
did not perform the experiments by our self, but
used the results en translated this to a complete
design. In the experiments a shotcrete floor plate
is reinforced with carbon fibres. This construction is
loaded till the collapsing point. You can learn a lot
from the experiments, but they are time consuming
and very expensive. We decided to reproduce the
physical tests in Diana, which we later on could use
on a building scale.
Future of FRP
Handbook when designing
“Saving material is the most sustainable
part of FRP constructions.”
#Sustainability#Weight
“We are using the CUR-aanbeveling 91 for
80 percent of the projects.”

#Standards#Projects
“We could never become like the flight-
and car industry.”
#Industry#money
The interest of FRP in de building industry is
growing. It will always be far behind the usage of it
in the flight- and car industry.
20 years ago the flight industry did not apply any
FRP in their planes. After each new model the
percentage of FRP was raising. Nowadays the
new models are built of more FRP than traditional
materials.
figure: written standard for reinforcing with FRP
(source: http://www.cur-aanbevelingen.nl/)
figure: Life cycle assement of FRP and Concrete.
(source: www.compositesworld.com)
figure: Life cycle assement of FRP and Concrete.
figure: Natural fibres.
figure: Bamboo fibres with conventional resin.
(source: http://compositesmanufacturingmagazine.
com/)
figure: Applied materials in a Boeing 787.
(source: www.carbonfiber.gr.jp)
The building industry will never conform to this
type of usage. Mark suggests the material will
grow to commonly usage as an alternative for
concrete, wood or steel. The main reason is the
monolith character of FRP. The tensile strength of
the material is very high. When we are looking at
the compressive strength the stiffness/ deflection
plays a dominant role.
The material has a disadvantage, which derives from
the advantage, namely the high tensile strength.
When a material has a very high tensile strength,
you do not need much to build a construction or
reinforce a construction. However you do not want
only tensile strength. The stiffness is also a key
factor. Enough stiffness can only be reached by
adding material or geometry.
When constructing with wood or steel the main
issue is “how much strength do you need”? When
the strength of the material is covered, you will
continue with looking at the deflection. In most
cases the deflection will be okay as well.
When constructing with FRP the design process is
the other way around. The strength of the material
will be okay in most cases, but the stiffness/
deflection of the material is the main issue. This is
the challenge during the design process.
Further information
Do you want more information about the
three projects of the chapter front page? Most
documents can be found on the website of ce-
mentonline.nl. Other projects Mark worked on can
be found on his LinkedIn page: https://www.linked-
in.com/in/markverbaten.
figure: Comparison of FRP Tensile and Steel Yield
Strengths
(source: http://www.build-on-prince.com/)

44 45
Benthem Crouwel Architects:
“Surface of the bathtub - the façade - should be seamless.”
Current | Industrial engineer and founder
Holland Composites

Experience | 23 years
Education | Delft University of Technology
Current | Architect and founder
Holland Composites

Experience | 4 years
Education | Northwood University
Interview Pieterjan Dwarshuis
Industrial designer
Interview Thijs van Riemsdijk
Commercial economist
45
The Yitzhak Rabin Center
Innovative free-form roof with GFRP sandwich construction
Project Information
Country | Israel
City | Tel Aviv
Finished | 2005
Architects | Moshe Safdie Architects
Use of FRP | Roof
(source: http://www.octatube.nl)
(source: http://www.hollandcomposites.nl) (source: http://www.hollandcomposites.nl)

46 47
The Yitzhak Rabin building is a memorial
to the slain Israeli leader. The building includes a
museum, an auditorium, a research institute, a library
with archive, and a great hall with multipurpose use.
The complex is located in northern Tel Aviv on
an escarpment atop an abandoned wartime
emergency power-generating station.
The museum consists of a series of galleries
arranged around a two-storey descending spiral.
Both the great hall and the library are roofed by
a series of undulating, curved, blob-shell elements
overhanging and shading the glazed walls and
reflecting diffused light inward.
(source: http://www.msafdie.com/)
Mick Eekhout: Giving wings to free form Architecture
afterwards anyway, due to the applied fire
protection layer.
The top layer of resin soaked fibre was cured before
the polyurethane blocks were placed. There were
fixed glass fibre strips and steel inserts between
the blocks. These strips would compensate for
the flexibility of the GFRP sandwich elements and
would help to stiffen the roof construction. The
steel inserts were necessary for the connection
with the steel facade beams. The bottom layer
fibre mats were placed and the resin was vacuum-
injected through the construction. This process
was repeated another 74 times.
“We started with the very curved panels,
so we could chop off the top layer of the
moulds and re-use it for the flatter panels.”
#Production#Sustainability
“For the central body we needed to use
steel, to prevent extreme deformation ”
#Production#Limits
Pieterjan Dwarshuis
Thijs van Riemsdijk
Production
Steel central body
Documentation
The production of the GFRP panels was very
intensive, because all 75 panels were unique. The
polystyrene moulds had been milled automatically
from negative moulds of CAD/CAM files. The
company called ‘Marin’ did this process.
When the moulds arrived at Holland Composites
the surface was first finished with an epoxy
layer and covered with a plastic foil. This would
prevent the moulds of deforming when applying
the material. The vacuum-injection method was
used for producing the sandwich panels. Holland
Composites has experience with this method and
already succeeded in fabricating 30-meter yachts.
The panels were produced top-down, because
the outer layer of the roof needed the smoothest
finishing. The inner layer had to be smoothened
The central part of the biggest roof had to be
supported with steel, due to the large forces from
the upper and the lower roof wings among some
other smaller forces. A complex space frame
structure of tubular steel was designed. Later this
structure would be covered with thin GFRP panels
at the top and bottom, making it merge with the
GFRP sandwich parts.
The entire composition was made in 2D rolled
tubular elements and not in 3D elements: 3D
elements would not be as accurate and even more
complex. The needed 3D elements were situated
in the length of the central body. To keep the
desired shape, these 3D elements were corrected
by connecting to the 2D tubes.
At Holland Composites the central part was
assembled in order to fit the GFRP panels. Once
the company succeeded in fitting the panels,
everything was disassembled and transported to
Tel Aviv.

Introduction
figure: floorplan Yitzhak Rabin Center.
(source: http://www.msafdie.com/)
figure: CNC-milling mould by Marin.
(source: http://www.nedcam.com)
figure: finished mould by Marin.
figure: production process GFRP panels.
figure: Steel central body.
(source: Eekhout M., Visser R. Full paper, Blob-shells
Composite Stressed Skin Roofs for Liquid Design Ar-
chitecture, March 2015)

48 49
“In the flight- and boat industry weight
matters, in the building industry not.”
#Weight#industries
Joints
Stiffness
Weight
The smooth joints of the sandwich panels
and connections with the steel main-construction
are similar to the Stedelijk Museum; only a bit
rougher, because it was the first time.
The roof is housing steel inserts. These inserts are
necessary for the connection of the steel main-
construction. In other industries we would use
FRP inserts, for example a solid GFRP plate. For
this project steel is used, since the weight is not an
important factor.

After the production of the panels was
finished, there were some contradictions between
thecomputerpredictionsandthereal-lifedistortions
and tolerances. Unforeseen deformation of the
produced GFRP panels was a result of warping the
negative moulds.
All the panels were produced on individual
polystyrene moulds, so they all had their own
shrinkage and shrink-direction. They shrunk due to
the vacuum injection. The seams were 20-25 mm,
instead of the predicted 12-15 mm. These seams
could be still filled up with fibre and resin, but using
more material it caused a larger weight for the
rooftop.
“Mick Eekhout: We received one
hunderd thousand euro’s for testing the
construction concept”.

#Testing#Innovation
Steel has a stiffness of 215 GPa and Carbon
lamella only 130 GPa, but steel is approximately
7 times heavier then carbon. So the ‘specific
stiffness’ of Carbon is much higher. There are very
special Carbon fibres with a stiffness of more then
600 GPa. Main conclusion: choosing material with
higher specific stiffness may help enormously in
lightening your span of a construction.
We had to proof to the authorities of Israel
the construction would suffice. This meant a kind
of verification test. They were not satisfied with the
test report; we had to test a full-scale model of the
roof. Finally we convinced them to test a fragment
of 6 by 2 meter. We had to transfer the fragment
to a specialized Belgium Company: normally the
Belgium Company is testing train track. We needed
to use heavy equipment, because we needed a
weight of 17- 20 ton, otherwise the amount of load
was not realistic. Luckily the results were promising
so we were happy, we had a budget for one test
example only.
In the flight- and boat industry the weight
of a construction is much more important. In the
building industry the weight of the construction
does not matter that much. Only with cantilevers
it matters. The point of the roof has a cantilever of
9 meter. When the material is heavier, it will deflect
more. Making the construction stiffer would mean
applying more material, which results in even more
deflection. When the deflection is still too high an
other solution is changing material to a material
with a higher stiffness to weight-ratio: changing
from Glass fibre to Carbon fibre for example. Carbon
fibre has the highest specific stiffness.
Production
Structural Testing
figure: Steel inserts.
figure: Full-scale testing model.
figure: placing the roof panels with humain guidance.
figure: Rhinoceros model Roof of the Yitzhak Rabin
Center
figure: one GFRP sandwich segment.

50 51
Transport Assembly
“The roofs were divided in fragments of
maximum 3,5 by 15 meters and transported
with custome super-crates to Tel Aviv.”
#Special#Transport
“Building on site with extreme condition of
40 degrees in the direct sun was definitely
a big challenge for the dutch workers.”
#Sun#installation
In the tender phase the concept was
producingtheroofinwholesegmentsandtransport
it by ship to Tel Aviv where a helicopter can lift the
roof segments in place. The manufacturing process
of the segments would become too expensive
and complex, so in the design phase the roof was
split up in smaller segments of maximum 3,5 by
15 meter. They were shipped in specially designed
super-crates with a size of 3,5 by 3,5 by 15 meter
in volume. These super-crates made it possible
to stack as many segments as possible in stake
position. First transport went via regular freight
ships to the harbour of Ash Dod, the rest was done
by inland trucking transport.
We connected the GFRP panels in Israel with
epoxy resin and Glass fibre lamella. The procedure
is: placing two panels against each other and fix
them with a prefabricated lamella. It is the same
procedure as the Stedelijk Museum, but slightly
more rough and shabby. Building on site was more
difficult, because it had to be done in 40 degrees
in the direct sun. The roof is assembled on the
ground, before it was all lifted in one piece on top.
The central body was build up in two halves, which
resulted in a building height of only 3 meters. Done
otherwise, it would become 8 meters and very
labour-intensive for the erectors.
figure: Computer model of transport.
Composite Stressed Skin Roofs for Liquid Design
Architecture, March 2015)
figure: special crates for transport.
figure: placing roof segments by crane.
figure: assembling the roof segments up side down.
figure: overview finished site.
figure: finishing the seams.
figure: finished site without glazing.
figure: placing roof segments by crane.

52 53
Current | Atelier PRO, Managing board
Previous | Dam & Partners Architecten
Education | MSc City Developer
Erasmus University Rotterdam

MSc Architecture
Alex Letteboer
Project Architect
53
Enexis Regional Offices
In search of an intelligent façade
Project Information
City | Zwolle, Venlo, Maastricht
Finished | 2012
Architects | Atelier PRO
Use of FRP | Façade
Source: http://www.atelierpro.nl/

54 55
Enexis and Atelier PRO searched for
renewable raw materials that could be used in the
façade, but after several months they concluded
that bio composites could not be applied.
A product based on petroleum is still needed to
guarantee an acceptable level of protection. A
proper biological alternative is not yet available.
This raises the question how to consider the
sustainability of a building where FRP is used as
building material. After all sustainability is not a
material property.
The sustainability of composites depends on the
lifecycle. If a building needs to stand for 100 years,
than it is better to make it out of composite than
out of wood. Wood can come out of an ecobos but
it still needs to be treated every five years with a
coating or paint job. If it is a temporary building it is
not smart to use a composite structure unless the
building is moveable or demountable and parts
can be re-used.
In the indoor environment where furniture has
a lifecycle of approximate 5 to 10 years bio-
composites are a solution, but not in the outside
environment where the weather has influence on
the material. These kind of composites will rot away
in a few years if it is not chemically coated properly
which is not that kind of sustainable.
However Enexis has a climate neutral façade and
the architect showed that designing with FRP also
can be economical. To make an economic design
of FRP you need to use the material efficiently. Try
just like this project to make series and a modular
design which is repetitive. This will reduce the costs
of making different moulds.
To be sustainable the architect can also think
about the life after the lifecycle, so re-using. There
are different kind of ways to recycle FRP, what
gives the material a second life. This could be done
in a mechanical, incineration, thermal or chemical
way. But keep in mind that the lifecycle is more
important.
A composite façade construction
Sustainability
Expanded cork
Bio based materials
Bio based sandwich constructionFacade Enexis Regional Offices Facade Enexis Regional Offices
Facade Enexis Regional Offices All images from this case study: http://www.atelierpro.nl/

56 57
The original ideal image had been a
white outside surface, in which a non-woven flax
reinforcement would be visible, providing a refined
subtle texture. However, this construction is less
suitable for exterior applications, as transparent
resin is less resistant to UV radiation.
Furan resins were used in the sugarcane industry
and during the tests they appeared to have a
number of special processing conditions. For
instance, the ‘open-time’ was shorter than in the
case of chemically based resins: thus the work had
to be done faster and there was less opportunity to
inject over greater lengths and volumes.
In the end epoxy resin proved to offer the best
guarantee while it is technically possible to
produce a composite material layer that consisted
of renewable raw materials for about 90%.
Mould
The façade elements are produced using
vacuum injection method. With this method a
completely stiffened synthetic mould is used, with
a tapered smooth form. The side of the mould will
form the ultimate hull and determines the shape of
the elements.
Sandwich panels
The reinforcement mats and preformed blocks of
PIR foam are placed in the mould, covered with
another layer of reinforcement mats, which together
will form the body of the sandwich panel. To make
the element fire safe, a final layer will be placed in
the mould made out of a fire resistant fibreboard.
The whole will be covered with a vacuum foil bag,
which will be applied airtight to the sides of the
mould.
A study was done on the environmental
impact of the facade elements. One of the
variants was a biocomposite with a body of cork.
Unforetunately it appeared that cork was not
(yet) the most suitable material for the body of
the sandwich panels, so PIR foam was chosen as
insulation material.
Insulation
“The composite façade elements are of
great help to direct the sunlight.”
- Willem Böttger of NPSP Composieten.
“For architects the design versatility of
composites combined with their excellent
inherent insulation performance makes
them a very interesting alterative to steel
and concrete.”
- Ad de Koning, R&D Director of DSM
Resin
“It appeared that cork was not (yet) the
most suitable insulation material and thus
PIR foam has been chosen.”
- Allard De Goeij Architect/Engineer
Mould
Contra form of mould
Finishing panel
Transport panels
Position & Mounting panel
Inside view
Outside view
Suspension points

58 59
Multiple Interviews
Sustainabilty and FRP
59
Mark Verbaten:
Gas Receive Station Dinteloord
The first biobased FRP facade in the world
Project Information
Country | Netherlands
City | Dinteloord
Finished | 2013
Designer | Marco Vermeulen
Use of FRP | Facade panels
Figure: www.bndestem.nl
Pierre Mostert
Job Schroën
Mark Verbaten
Pieterjan Dwarshuis
Thijs van Riemsdijk
Holland Composites

60 61
Figure: The mould for making the panels
(source: marcovermeulen.eu)
The facade is made of panels called NaBasCo®,
which is short for ‘Natural Based Composite’. The
firm NPSP, located in Haarlem and specialized in
biocomposites, produced the panels.
The amount of 104 panels, each sized 140 x 185 mm,
fill the whole facade of the building. Allthough the
design does not requires an insulating value, it’s still
a good start for the use of biobased composites in
architecture.
The facade is made of a biobased resin.
In the future, according to NPSP, they will use
‘sugarbased’ biocomposites as facade material to
stimulate a biobased economy.
NaBasCo has already found it’s use in other
industries, such as the automotive industry.
The close collaboration between the
architect and the producer led to the use of two
types of fibres: flax and hemp.
Sustainability and FRP
The world’s first biobased facade designed
by Marco Vermeulen is situated in Dinteloord.
An expressive facade visualizes the correct
composition of natural gas. This case study is
meant to be an indroduction on the subject of
sustainability. Besides the case study this chapter
includes a view from the people interviewed on the
development of sustainability in FRP.
Figures: The gas station side AB
Figures: The gas station side CD
Figure: The empty mould for making the panels
Figure: The filled mould for making the panels
Figure: NaBasCo used in a different industry
(source: vaneko.com)
Figure: Facade elements elevation
Figure: Facade elements isometry
Introduction Resin Fibres
Documentation

62 63
One of the thing that surprised me the most
is that the production process is very old fashioned.
You would think that it’s a good candidate as
material for the future, but it is not clean yet.
I visited ‘Royal Huisman Yachts’, where they are
really smart with engineering connections for
yachts. In that way FRP really is a material with
potention in the future. The fact that you can lay
down more fibres where you expect more forces
is great.
FRP is ofcourse a very new material, so we do not
know much about it and that makes it very risky
to apply. It is for example not clear yet what the
material will look like in 50 years.
Job Schroën
I always say that FRP is not sustainable
because oil is the resource for the polymer and it
needs a lot of processing. To make glassfibre you
need to melt glass, which takes a lot of energy.
People usually react by saying the material usage
is much lower, but it’s still that material.
Most composites today are unsustainable and if
they are placed outside, little particles will detach
from the surface. UV light will brake it up. That is
plastic probably ending up in the sea which cannot
be recycled. For now it’s not yet a sustainable
material to work with, but I expect that the future
holds a solution.
Natural Fibres
Natural fibres and resins will be the future,
but we’re not there yet.
Carbon fibres can be made from cellulose, but it’s
still an energy consuming process.
I don’t think that natural fibres, like grass or straw,
will be used in their natural form. Instead the big
industrial sector will think of ways to extract the
building blocks from the natural material and create
fibres with thát. The big issue is still that natural
materials react different on moist than unnatural
materials.
Figure: Pierre Mostert Figure: Pierre Mostert
Pierre Mostert
“Natural fibres and resins will be the future,
but we’re not there yet”
#Naturalfibres#Future
“We do not know much about it, so it’s very
risky to apply”
#Dare#Future
Figure: Pierre Mostert
(source: own illustration)
Figure: Job Schroën

64 65
Holland Composites
Since the industrial revolution we have tried
our best to develop durable synthetic material with
high resistancy to corrosion, discolouration, fire,
etcetera. Now that we are finally there they come
up with bio composites. The word biodegradable
already describes that it’s going to rot during use.
Bio composites are not very strong and cannot
match the properties of synthetic composites.
Life cycle
The most logic thing to do is to implement
bio composites in products with a shorter life cycle.
With a longer life cycle it is more responsible to use
the more durable synthetic materials. If you make
a building to last for 100 years and you do not have
to paint it in a 100 years it’s a much better solution
than a wooden building you have to varnish every
5 years. The environmental impact will be much
less with the composite solution even if the wood
is harvested in an ecoforest.
My motto: Everything on the outside of a building
is made from synthetic composites; everything
on the inside, which has a short life cycle and
will be replaced in 5-10 years can be made from
biocomposites.
We really see biobased composites applicated
indoors. A suspended ceiling would be perfect if
you can make it from recycled straw binded with
a soy based resin. You don’t have to worry about
rotting because it is indoors; outside it would rot
and that’s the problem.
We concentrate mostly on performance
composites.
“The most logic thing to do is to implement
bio composites in products with a shorter
life cycle.”
#Biocomposite#Lifecycle
Mark Verbaten
The material has the advantage of not
corroding. The resin can break down over
time, but relative to traditional materials it is
extremely durable.
Life Cycle
More critics can be given on the life cycle.
Producing the material consumes a lot of
energy. For example carbon is produced in
the same way as charcoal. The raw material
is heated till a curtain temperature, at which
everything other than charcoal burns without
oxygen. This chemical process is called
pyrolysis. With wood it will be transformed to
charcoal. When using acrylfibres the process
is transforming the acryl to carbon. This
production process will consume the same amount
of energy as concrete or steel. On
the other hand you will need less material for
the construction.
The post reinforcement methode is a very
sustainable solution. The whole building
would be demolished if you would not use
this solution.
Figure: Mark Verbaten
Figure: Thijs van Riemsdijk (left) & Pieterjan Dwarshuis
from Holland Composites
Natural fibres
It is a very interesting development. These NFRP’s
(Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymers) should be ap-
plied on construction where the stiffness is less im-
portant or you should be able to adjust the geom-
etry in such a way the construction will be stiffer.

66 67
Further Information
Books
Bio-based Polymers and Composites - Richard P.
Wool • Xiuzhi Susan Sun
Energy
You cannot say that one material is more
sustainable than the other. The question is what
you are going to do with the material. For example
carbon epoxy is a material with the highest energy
content per kilo, but that doesn’t mean you cannot
build wonderfull things with it. It is because you just
need a little amount of the material.
If you are making a carbon fibre windmill it would
be a thoughtfull use of material. If you are making a
carbon fibre chair the material use is totally wrong,
nice, but at the end a bad thing. Furniture should
be made of biodegradable material, pressed pulp
for example.
Bio resins
The problem is that bio resins are not
properly available at the moment. Research on
laboratory scale and bigger is done, but mostly in
an old fashioned way.
“My motto: Everything on the outside of a
building is made from synthetic composites;
everything on the inside can be made from
biocomposites”
#Biocomposite#Motto
Figure: Pressed pulp used as packaging
(source: packonline.nl)

68 69
INDEX
A
Acoustics 10, 23
Assembly 11, 24, 39, 51
B
Bio resins 66
E
Energy 66
F
Fibres 11, 21, 61
Finishing & Maintenance 9
Fire Safety 8, 23, 34, 41
Further Information 35
Future of FRP 42
I
Impact force 9, 41
Insulation 10, 57
J
Joint 25, 32
Joints 11
L
Life cycle 65
Life Cycle 64
M
Material Properties 38
Mechanical Properties 39
Moisture 10, 33
Mould 22, 56
N
Natural fibres 34
Natural Fibres 62
P
Post Reinforcement 68
Production 46, 49
Production Technique 33
R
Regulatory 41
Resin 11, 32, 56, 61
S
Sandwich panels 56
Stiffness 8, 48
Strength 9
Structural 9
Structural Properties 30
Structural Testing 49
Sustainability 55
T
Thermal Expansion 8, 20
Transport 9, 23, 50
W
Weight 10, 32, 48

FRP Architectural handbook

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to FRP Architectural handbook

Similar to FRP Architectural handbook (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

FRP Architectural handbook