STRUCTURAL STRENGTHENING, TYFO® SYSTEM
OVERVIEW
The structural engineer of record determined that the reinforced concrete beams supporting this museum’s floor needed to be strengthened to accommodate new loading – a 67-million-year-old fossil exhibit known as the “Dueling Dinosaurs!” Buried side by side during the Late Cretaceous period on a subtropical coastal plain in what is now Montana, the “Dueling Dinosaurs are among the most complete skeletons ever discovered of the two most iconic dinosaurs – Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex – including what is thought to be the only 100% complete skeleton of a T. rex known anywhere in the world.
Such a monumental discovery warranted a state-of-the-art exhibit which, in turn, required an increase in the shear capacity of the supporting floor beams. Fyfe’s Tyfo® SCH-41 system was used to supplement the shear capacity of the existing reinforced concrete floor beams. This was accomplished by orienting the unidirectional carbon fiber system in a “U-Wrap,” with the primary fibers running transversely to the axes of the beams.
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-3 Installation of Tyfo® SCH-41 Fibrwrap® System](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-3-1110x646.jpg)
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-4 Fully Installed Tyfo® SCH-41 Fibrwrap® System](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-4-1110x654.jpg)
Like all projects, this one was not without its challenges. The existing concrete beams were coated in a fire protection system, which needed to be removed prior to the installation of the Tyfo SCH-41 system. Adhesion testing was performed to confirm an adequate bond between the substrate and the Tyfo SCH-41 system. Witness panels were also created onsite and sent to an independent laboratory for ASTM D3039 testing to confirm the design properties of the Tyfo SCH-41 system.
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-6 Onsite Creation of Witness Panels for ASTM D3039 Tension Testing](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-6-1110x654.jpg)
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-5 Joist Strengthening Detail from Fyfe’s Shop Drawings](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-5-1110x683.jpg)
PROJECT DETAILS
Project: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Dueling Dinosaurs Exhibit
Location: North Carolina
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-1 “Dueling Dinosaur” Fossil](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-1-1110x744.jpg)
![CS - Beam Strengthening - North Carolina Museum_071222-2 Underside of Beams and Slab Coated in Fire Protection Prior to Installation of Tyfo® SCH-41 Fibrwrap® System](https://www.cs-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CS-Beam-Strengthening-North-Carolina-Museum_071222-2-847x1024.jpg)