APPENDIX B. SITE REPORTS

BACKGROUND

The Advanced Composite Cable Club was formed in November 1991 to promote the use of composite reinforcing elements (rods, tendons, grids, cables etc.) in the construction industry, and to develop associated technology. Currently it has three classes of members:

• Regular members consisting of civil and construction companies
• Associate members consisting of composite and materials suppliers and fabricators
• Special members consisting of design firms

At the time of the visit, there were 69 regular members, 16 associate members and 3 special members.

The organization has 7 materials subcommittees, one for each of the major forms of reinforcement (by company) being considered in Japan. They are:

• CFCC group - representing Tokyo Rope Mfg. Co., Ltd. for carbon fiber composite cables
• Arapree group - representing Nippon Aramid Co., Ltd. and Kajima Corporation for aramid fiber based prestressing elements
• Technora group - representing Teijin, Ltd. and Sumitomo Construction Co., Ltd. for aramid based composite rods, bars and strands
• FIBRA group - representing Shinko Wire Co., Ltd., for braided composite cables made of aramid in general, but also using carbon and glass fibers
• Leadline group - representing Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation, for carbon fiber reinforced pultruded rods
• NEFMAC group - representing NEFCOM Corporation, for the use of grid type structural reinforcing elements of glass, carbon or glass/carbon hybrid composites
• NACC group - representing Nippon Steel Corporation and Suzuki Metal Industry Co., Ltd., for carbon fiber reinforced twisted composite cables

ACTIVITIES OF INTEREST

• Members work individually on projects but share information for standardization and commercialization.
• Under the aegis of the ACC Club over 100 projects have been showcased in Japan and 3 outside Japan with a distribution as in Fig. B.1.

  
  Fig. B.1. Distribution of ACC projects.

• Draft design and construction guidelines for the use of composite tendons in prestressed concrete were published in March 1994 by the Public Works Research Institute and the Ministry of Construction, in collaboration with members of the ACC Club. The guidelines were under revision at the time of this WTEC visit.
• Based on concerns of overall durability (moisture, alkalinity and UV), activities currently emphasize the use of carbon and aramid reinforcing fibers, although glass fibers are used in low stress and temporary applications.
• Provisions for long-term durability and aging are being developed.
• Different types of anchorages are being considered.
• A concerted and collaborative attempt is being made to ensure that composites (irrespective of company of origin) are increasingly considered and showcased in new projects both in the private and public sectors.
• A loose but concerted attempt is being made by the ACC Club to regulate products for acceptable quality and standardization of form. The ACC Club promotes the use of reinforcement systems, with the bulk of the validation and testing being performed by the individual manufacturers who also provide "guarantees" for minimum performance levels.
• The problem associated with high initial costs of these systems was acknowledged and efforts are being made (at individual companies) to develop life cycle cost models.
• The overall use of carbon and aramid fiber reinforced elements totals about 200 km to date. A large increase in use was seen in 1993, which appears significant in view of the recession in Japan. Since then, industrial subsidies have been reduced, while revenues from paying customers have increased, though not at the same rate. Moreover, the customers could belong to the same industrial group or keiretsu.