UT Anna Hiss
Wet-laid CFRP beam strengthening at Anna Hiss Gym required coordinated preparation and access in crawlspace and first-floor areas.
Delta Structural Technology completed beam strengthening at the University of Texas Anna Hiss Gym. The scope placed carbon fiber reinforcement in the crawlspace and on the first floor, combining access planning with preparation of existing concrete. The proposed method used wet-laid CFRP and an epoxy saturant, with crack treatment determined separately by the engineer of record where needed.
- Market
- Education
- Services
- Beam CFRP strengthening
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- Structural members
- Concrete Beam Strengthening
Project challenge
The work areas presented different access conditions within one building. A crawlspace installation must be planned around the available working area, while first-floor work introduces its own coordination needs. In both areas, the concrete surface had to be suitable for bonding. Existing cracking was treated as a condition for engineering review rather than an automatic addition to every reinforcement location.
Project approach
Delta’s proposed process included plastic curtains and air handlers during surface preparation, roughening the concrete to the specified profile, and inspection before composite application. The reinforcement was to be saturated with a two-part epoxy and applied using a wet-layup method in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements. Where directed by the engineer, crack preparation and port injection would precede the CFRP work so that the bonding surface was ready for reinforcement.
Delivery and coordination
The scope identified access, obstruction removal, and staging as contractor coordination requirements. Inspection and testing were separate from the installation work. Planning therefore connected the engineer’s decisions on any crack repairs with access to the beams and the sequence of surface preparation, review, composite application, and cure. That coordination was central to work spanning both the crawlspace and first floor.
Project significance
Anna Hiss Gym illustrates a beam-strengthening scope shaped by existing-building access. The technical lesson is that surface preparation and installation conditions need to be developed alongside the reinforcement detail. Explicitly separating conditional crack repair from the base strengthening scope also helps maintain a clear design-to-field process.
