MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing Capabilities
QuakeWrap® makes its patented repair products in its own facility in Tucson, Arizona or through selected contract manufacturing partners: PileMedic® laminates and spacers, SPiRe®+ panels, StifPipe® and InfinitPipe® pipe, custom FRP shells and ShearWrap™ steel bands. Some pipe can even be made on site.
IN-HOUSE AND PARTNER MANUFACTURING
Made by the Team That Developed the Products
QuakeWrap® produces many of its patented systems in-house and uses carefully selected contract manufacturing partners for others. That lets us keep strict quality control and still scale production for projects of very different sizes.
The QuakeWrap® FRP fabric and resin systems recognized in IAPMO UES ER-828 are produced by QuakeWrap, Inc. in Tucson, Arizona. PileMedic® laminates and pultruded SPiRe®+ panels are also made at the QuakeWrap® facility. [Confirm with QuakeWrap which products, such as Form-A-Tube® strips, spacers and steel components, are made by partners]
- PileMedic® structural laminates and spacers
- SPiRe®+ stay-in-place FRP panels
- StifPipe® liners and InfinitPipe® continuous pipe
- Form-A-Tube® forms for piles and columns
- Custom FRP shells and ShearWrap™ steel components
WHAT WE MAKE
Products and How Each One Is Made
-
PileMedic® Laminates
Glass or carbon fabric saturated with vinylester resin, cured under controlled heat and pressure into dense laminates 0.03 to 0.07 in. thick, with a factory-applied UV-resistant gel coat.
PileMedic® -
SPiRe®+ Panels
Glass fibers and vinyl ester resin pulled through a continuous pultrusion process into 3 ft wide panels with a grit-coated back that bonds to grout or concrete.
SPiRe®+ -
StifPipe® Liners
FRP skins around a lightweight honeycomb core, wrapped on a collapsible mandrel in virtually any diameter, at the plant or near the project.
StifPipe® -
InfinitPipe®
Continuous FRP pipe built at the job site in virtually any length and diameter, with no joints along straight runs.
InfinitPipe® -
Custom FRP Shells
Composite shells, jackets and tubular systems shaped to the structure, made with high-strength glass or carbon reinforcement by resin infusion.
Custom FRP Shapes -
ShearWrap™ & ShearClamp™
Steel bands and clamps fabricated for each project's pile size and load, so new concrete shells take load from steel piles without welding.
ShearWrap™ -
PileMedic® Spacers
Patented spacers that set an exact annular space and hold #4, #6 or #7 reinforcing bars inside the jacket, supplied with nylon banding.
Accessories -
Form-A-Tube®
UV-resistant PVC strips, made from recycled material, that snap together into a pile or column form of any diameter or length.
Form-A-Tube® -
Wet & Dry Layup FRP
QuakeWrap® carbon and glass fabrics and QuakeBond™ resins, the systems recognized in IAPMO UES ER-828.
Wet & Dry Layup
Need a size or shape we don't list?
Send the drawings or field measurements. We will tell you what we can make and how long it takes.
PILEMEDIC® LAMINATES
From Fabric to a 9 ft Wide Roll
-
Saturate the fabric
High-quality glass or carbon fiber fabric is saturated with vinylester resin.
-
Cure under heat and pressure
Controlled heat and pressure produce a dense laminate 0.8 to 1.7 mm (0.03 to 0.07 in.) thick.
-
Apply the gel coat
Each laminate gets a factory-applied gel coat for resistance to UV and weathering.
-
Roll and ship
Laminates come off in continuous rolls up to 9 ft (2.7 m) wide and hundreds of feet long. Most ship 4 ft (1.2 m) wide.
PULTRUSION AND RESIN INFUSION
Standard Panels by Pultrusion, Custom Shells by Infusion
SPiRe®+ panels are made by continuous pultrusion: high-strength glass fibers are saturated with vinyl ester resin and formed into rigid panels with uniform geometry and thickness. The back is grit-coated to lock into the grout or concrete behind it, so the panel works as both stay-in-place form and reinforcement. Standard panels are 3 ft wide in 12 ft and 18 ft lengths, and custom lengths cut down on joints.
When a standard product doesn't fit, QuakeWrap® makes custom-fabricated composite shells and tubular systems with advanced resin infusion, using glass or carbon reinforcement. The original SPiRe® panels are sandwich panels, a lightweight core between glass FRP skins, made by vacuum resin infusion. The custom SPiRe® shells for the Port of Galveston deck were made the same way, molded to match the shape and size of the beams they repair. SPiRe®+ panels are pultruded.
- Vinyl ester resin for resistance to corrosion, chlorides and chemicals
- Grit-coated panel backs for bond to grout or concrete
- Custom lengths and project-specific geometries
MOBILE AND ON-SITE PRODUCTION
Pipe Made Near the Job, Not Trucked Across the Country
StifPipe® is built on a collapsible steel mandrel with adjustable arms, so one setup makes pipe in virtually any diameter. Layers of glass, carbon fiber and a 3D core are wrapped on the mandrel and cure in about 12 hours at room temperature, or faster with heat. The mandrel then collapses slightly and the finished pipe slides off.
Pipe can be made at the plant, on site, or near the project with a mobile production unit, which cuts trucking and handling. Non-circular StifPipe® can be made locally anywhere in the world to fit the host culvert. Where access is limited or the repair is short, StifPipe® can instead go on by wet layup, using the host pipe as the mold.
InfinitPipe® takes the idea further: the pipe is made continuously at the job site, and each cured section is pulled off the mandrel while the next is made, so straight runs have no joints.
- Each pipe made for its project, in virtually any diameter
- Light sections that can often be installed by hand, without cranes
- A 16 ft StifPipe® made for a Detroit sewer interceptor
CUSTOM PIPE
Building a Custom Honeycomb FRP Pipe
Construction of a custom honeycomb and FRP pipe. The sections were used to rehabilitate a corroded corrugated metal pipe culvert in Mobile, Alabama in December 2012.
Plays from YouTube
ON-SITE MANUFACTURING
InfinitPipe®: Continuous FRP Pipe Made on Site
How a jointless carbon or glass FRP pipe of any length is made at the job site with the patented process developed by Prof. Mo Ehsani.
Plays from YouTube
STEEL FABRICATION AND SPECIAL PRODUCTS
Beyond FRP: Steel Components and One-Off Parts
Our manufacturing also covers steel fabrication. Each ShearWrap™ is two steel half bands joined by high-strength bolts and torqued around a round pile; ShearClamp™ units bolt to the flanges of H-piles. They are made for each project's pile size and load, so the new concrete shell picks up load from a corroded steel pile without welding.
QuakeWrap® has also designed and made custom composite parts for unusual uses, such as lightweight carbon FRP bridges for the Memphis Area Transit Authority's rail trolley cars. The new ramps were reported to be more than 60% lighter and three times stronger than metal ramps.
- Steel plates and ASTM-designated high-strength bolts
- Made to each project's pile size and design load
- Wings or flanges can be welded to a wrap to raise its capacity
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality You Can Document
Engineers and inspectors can trace QuakeWrap® materials from the plant to the structure.
-
Inspected plant program
ER-828 systems are made in Tucson under a quality control program with periodic inspections supervised by IAPMO UES.
-
Written QC plan
Production follows the QuakeWrap Quality Control Plan QW_QCP and installation instructions QW/II-2020, both referenced in ER-828.
-
Lot and batch tracking
On the ADOT bridge project, fabric lot numbers and resin batch numbers were logged for every girder, and materials arrived in unopened packaging.
-
Witness panels
Field witness panels can be made daily and tested to ASTM D3039, as on the ADOT project.
-
Plant-made laminates
PileMedic® laminates are cured in the plant under heat and pressure, not mixed and cured in the field.
-
Uniform pultruded panels
Pultrusion gives SPiRe®+ panels uniform geometry and thickness from panel to panel.
Need data sheets or test reports for a submittal?
Product data sheets, ER-828 and independent test reports are in the engineers library.
FOR ENGINEERS
Specs, Data and Test Results
- FOR ENGINEERS Product Data Sheets Fabrics, resins, laminates and panels
- Test Results & Approvals ER-828, NSF/ANSI 61 and test reports
- Specifications & Sample Design Details
- Custom FRP Shapes Shells, liners, panels and forms built to fit
- VIDEO Manufacturing ShearWrap™ Steel fabrication of ShearWrap™ bands
Manufacturing FAQs
Where are QuakeWrap® products made?
The FRP systems recognized in IAPMO UES ER-828 are produced by QuakeWrap, Inc. in Tucson, Arizona, and PileMedic® laminates and SPiRe®+ panels are made at the QuakeWrap® facility. Other products are made in-house or by selected contract manufacturing partners. StifPipe® and InfinitPipe® can also be made on or near the project site.
Can you make a product to fit an unusual shape?
Yes. Custom FRP shells, non-circular StifPipe® liners and custom-length SPiRe®+ panels are made to the shape of the structure. See Custom FRP Shapes for examples.
How wide are PileMedic® laminate rolls?
Rolls are made up to 9 ft (2.7 m) wide and hundreds of feet long. The most common width shipped is 4 ft (1.2 m).
What are SPiRe®+ panels made of?
High-strength glass fibers and vinyl ester resin, formed by pultrusion, with a grit-coated back for bond to grout or concrete. Standard panels are 3 ft wide in 12 ft and 18 ft lengths.
What is the lead time for a custom product?
[Confirm with QuakeWrap: typical lead times for stock and custom products]
Does QuakeWrap design the repair?
The engineer of record designs the repair. Our team will recommend the right QuakeWrap® system and provide specifications, data sheets and sample design details for your engineer.
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
FRP Repair for Manufacturing and Pulp & Paper Plants
Tell Us What You Need Made
Send the structure, the drawings or the field measurements. Our team will recommend the right QuakeWrap® system and provide specifications for your engineer.