Anticollapsing intervention with GFRP LIFE+ system – Torino

In the center of the city of Turin, the PAM supermarket on Corso Cosenza is located on the ground floor of a multi-story residential building with the typical characteristics of an apartment building constructed over the past thirty years. The supermarket, with its entrance and display windows facing the main street, occupies a large area with a single environment used for product display and sales. The falling of plaster portions from the ceiling during the supermarket’s closing hours alarmed the property owner and prompted an urgent anti-spalling intervention.

ISSUES AND DAMAGE

The problem of spalling did not immediately emerge due to the presence of numerous conduits that concealed a part of it, as well as the dark color of the ceiling originally chosen to camouflage the aforementioned conduits serving the facility (electrical, ventilation, air conditioning, fire prevention, etc.).

Following the falling of several evident portions of the ceiling, urgent investigations were carried out over the entire surface, which led to the identification of specific instances of spalling in the masonry, with possible material falling or some areas lacking.

INTERVENTION

The works to resolve the spalling issue were promptly carried out through the installation of the LIFE+ system, consisting of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (G.F.R.P.) grids, covering a total area of approximately 2200 square meters, and using about 8000 specially sized metal connectors.

The GFRP grid, with a 99×99/33 mm mesh, is a preformed grid made of fiber-reinforced composite material with a square monolithic main mesh, produced using Textrusion® technology. It is composed of Alkali-Resistant (AR) glass fiber and a vinyl ester-epoxy thermosetting resin.

After installation, the spalling-resistant GFRP grid was concealed with the subsequent installation of a false ceiling, which also incorporated all the previously visible conduits. The speed of the system installation allowed the commercial activity to be halted for only one week.

CONSTRUCTION SITE INFORMATION PROJECT: Safety intervention on the supermarket’s roof slab.

LOCATION: Corso Cosenza, City of Turin.

CONTRACTOR: Del Regno S.r.L., Orbassano (TO), Italy.

YEAR OF COMPLETION: 2018.