Reliable results are worth waiting for: long-term testing

Regarding our test, we’ve got a lot of stamina. If necessary, we wait years and years to get important data. For our customer Fiberline Compsites A/S, we are right in the middle of a long-term test. Back in 2004, a bridge near our hometown Dresden, in Klipphausen was built. Not just a standard bridge, but one made with profiles of glass fibre reinforced plastics. It’s the result of the so-called ASSET project funded by the EU to develop a competitive alternative to steel or concrete bridges. To get reliable data on the material properties, we joined the game and put nine sample sets of glass fibre reinforced plastic in the bridge. Periodically, test samples are taken out for examination to analyze whether the calculations for the ageing of the material correspond with the results of the tested samples under realistic environmental conditions. By now, there are four remaining test sample sets. The whole test lasts until 2036!