Rebar causes headaches, yet many contractors, developers and even engineers are hesitant to try proven alternatives, simply because they are different.
Five Projects Improved With Helix Micro Rebar: America’s Favorite Alternative Concrete Reinforcement
Helix Steel’s innovative steel product is a rebar alternative that consistently delivers key benefits for practically every concrete application, from bridges to homes to amusement rides.
Rebar and mesh concrete reinforcements are well known and often used in most concrete applications, but change is in the air. There is a rebar and mesh alternative that can save days of labor, create more durable concrete, improve your site’s safety and make things easier than ever before.
Helix Micro Rebar is an American-made twisted-steel reinforcement that’s only one inch long and mixed with thousands of other pieces to give concrete far superior advantages over more familiar concrete reinforcements. The exact dose depends on your application, but the places where you can use Helix Micro Rebar are practically limitless. Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Five Real-Life Projects That Benefit From Helix Micro Rebar
Utah Department of Transportation’s Mountain View Corridor Bridge Deck
West Valley City, Utah
In 2017, UDOT constructed four new bridge decks along the Mountain View Corridor with two of the four using Helix Micro Rebar (also known as TSMR) at a dose of 40 lb/yd3. Since the bridges’ construction, they were exposed to freeze-thaw and de-icing agents with significant volumes of traffic.
Cracks in the surfaces were measured over a two-year period and showed that the convention design had many more cracks and was at a greater size than the Helix Micro Rebar decks. Helix Steel’s innovative product resulted in a 3x reduction in cracks!
In every analysis, using laboratory testing, field testing and data analyses, Helix Micro Rebar was found to be the better way to build.
A key recommendation in the report:
“Based on the results of the distress surveys performed on the bridge decks studied in this research, the use of TSMR in concrete bridge decks is recommended to provide additional protection against cracking and reduce the occurrence of larger cracks. In addition, the use of TSMR is recommended for use when extreme loading conditions, such as earthquakes, are expected, as concrete containing TSMR exhibits high levels of toughness; the use of TSMR would also be expected to provide increased post-cracking structural capacity during the service life of a bridge deck”
Metro Transit Authority East Side Access Tunnel
New York, New York
Commenced in 2007 and scheduled to open in 2022, this tunnel is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the U.S.A., extending the Long Island Rail Road commuter rail system from Queens to Grand Central Terminal.
Frontier Kemper’s portion of this complex project includes work on a permanent structural concrete lining, interior structures, and fit-out for previously excavated tunnels north of Grand Central. Helix Micro Rebar is being used in cast-in-place tunnel final lining and shotcrete applications.
Helena Area Habitat For Humanity
Red Lodge, Montana
Helix Steel is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity, and recently played a lead role in supplying Helix Micro Rebar for the organization’s slabs for new homes in Montana. The alternative concrete reinforcement was used in residential slabs at a dose of 19.5lb/yd3 to help eliminate substandard housing while reducing maintenance costs for new homeowners.
Pier 57 Ferris Wheel
Seattle, Washington
Seattle contractor Manson Construction was planning this one-in-a-lifetime project and sought new ways to lower material and labor costs for the construction of the footings. The solution of course was Helix Micro Rebar. By replacing #6 rebar cages in 53 piles with Helix Micro Rebar (in doses of 25 lb/yd3 and 31.5 lb/yd3), the cost was reduced and four days of construction was saved. On top of it all, the alternative concrete reinforcement increased the concrete’s durability by 45%.
MARS Pavilion
Palm Springs, California
The future of concrete is in good hands when engineers, contractors, developments and American businesses work together to solve the problems of the future today. This public art project would have been impossible with rebar, and still today this conversation piece focuses on the many possibilities of the construction industry using the power of 3D printing combined with alternative reinforcements.
Make Your Project a Helix Steel Success Story
Helix Steel is proud to have successfully replaced standard concrete reinforcement in more than 40,000 projects across North America. Learn more about the many success stories that use Helix Micro Rebar by visiting our online Project Finder tool.
If you have a project that may benefit from Helix Micro Rebar, please use our easy online Project Submission form and a Helix Steel engineer with reach out to you shortly.
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