Structural members

Abstract

Improved structural members including solid and hollow core beams, poles, columns and enclosure structures formed of a cement-based slurry infiltrated fiber composite material. The improved structural members are produced by first placing a plurality of individual short fibers or fiber mats of organic or inorganic materials into a form to create a bed of fibers substantially filling the form and having a predetermined fiber volume density and then adding a cement-based slurry mixture into the form to completely infiltrate the spaces between the fibers. Existing structural members may be retrofitted with jackets of the cement-based slurry infiltrated fiber composite material. The cement-based slurry mixture includes a composition of Portland cement or blended cement, fly ash, water, a high-range water reducer (superplasticizer), and may also include fine grain sand, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, chemical admixtures, and other additives. Due to its fiber volume density and method of manufacture, the resulting structure has greater strength, less maintenance, and less cracking and deterioration than wood, steel, or conventional reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete structures, and a much higher bending capacity approximating that of structural steel.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.