Scientists develop multi-purpose slab for construction in Arctic

TVER, May 15. /TASS/. Scientists at the Tver State Technical University developed and patented a multi-purpose prefabricated slab for transport construction in the Arctic. The slab may be adapted during manufacturing: polymer composite plates and fittings may be selected for specific facilities, like a highway, and airfield or infrastructures for an oil and gas field, the university's press service told TASS. "The prefabricated slab is multi-purpose as it may be structurally modified during manufacturing by selecting appropriate protective polymer composite plates and composite reinforcement for specific use in road and airfield construction, in the development of oil and gas fields," the press service said. The key problem of traditional roads and airfields construction in the Arctic is the rapid destruction of concrete slabs: the lower layer suffers from variable bending moment and the aggressive environment, while the upper – from dynamic loads and sudden temperature fluctuations. In addition, the heavy standard slabs are complicated in transportation and operation on high-ice soils (frozen soils containing more than 50% ice in volume) in the harsh climatic conditions, the university said. The prefabricated slab of a new design is a solution to the problem: it is made in standard forms, though it consists of ready-made elements – polymer composite plates with good physical and mechanical properties and a reinforced-concrete layer. The layers are connected by technological methods, for example, by using boss anchors or self-tapping anchors, thus making production simpler and increasing the structure reliability. According to experts, such a slab has a number of advantages: its weight is less (by 25-30%), which cuts the pressure on the ground base and allows using transport and cranes with a lower load capacity; its crack resistance and corrosion resistance are increased; the amount of repair work is less. Economic efficiency is due to eliminated steel reinforcement, lower manufacturing and transportation costs, and increased coating durability in the complicated Arctic conditions.