Reasons for Changes of Building Utilization

Building utilization changes refer to adjusting a building’s original functions to meet new demands, driven by four core factors:

1）Economic efficiency maximization. Convert low-value idle spaces (old factories, warehouses) into high-value formats (co-working spaces, data centers) to boost rental income; reuse existing buildings to cut costs of demolition and new construction.

2）Policy and urban planning guidance. Respond to urban renewal, industrial upgrading and low-carbon development policies, optimizing urban functional layout by transforming outdated industrial zones or old residential areas.

3）Adaptation to social demand shifts. Cater to lifestyle upgrades (e.g., flexible offices, experience-based malls) and fill public service gaps (converting idle buildings into community clinics or elderly care centers); also meet emergency needs like temporary quarantine sites.

4）Enterprise development needs. Adjust spaces to support business expansion (e.g., workshops to exhibition halls), industrial transformation (manufacturing to R&D centers) and compliance with new safety/environmental standards.

Types of Buildings with Utilization Changes

Causes of Load Increase Due to Utilization Changes

The adjustment of building functions directly leads to the increase of structural load, which is mainly divided into the following categories:

• Static load increase. Addition of permanent facilities: Installation of heavy-duty floors, fixed equipment foundations, multi-layer heavy shelves, and permanent partition walls.Increase of material storage density: For warehouses and workshops, the stacking height and unit weight of goods are increased, leading to a significant rise in floor static load.

• Live load increase. Increase of personnel density: Transformation of office spaces into large-scale conference halls or exhibition halls, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of people in a single area.. Dynamic load of equipment: Operation of high-power machinery and equipment (such as stamping machines, forging equipment) generates dynamic loads; vibration of server groups in data centers also increases the dynamic load on the structure. Vehicle access: For some ground-floor workshops or transformed commercial buildings, the need for forklifts, cargo trucks to enter the interior leads to the increase of floor live load.

• Unconventional load increase. Addition of external attachments: Installation of external advertising billboards, solar panels on the roof of the building, which increases the wind load and dead load of the roof structure. Change of load distribution: The original uniform load is transformed into concentrated load due to the placement of large equipment, which brings greater pressure to local structural components (such as beams and columns).

Aiming at the load increase caused by the above utilization changes, carbon fiber materials can be targeted to reinforce key structural components of the building, specifically including:

Structural Components Reinforced by Carbon Fiber Materials

1) Floor slabs

Reinforcement purpose: Improve the bending capacity, shear capacity and crack resistance of the floor, so as to bear the increased static and dynamic loads.

Reinforcement scheme: Paste carbon fiber fabrics on the bottom surface of the floor for bending reinforcement; paste carbon fiber U-shaped hoops on the side of the floor slab for shear reinforcement; for large-span floors, use carbon fiber plates to enhance the overall bearing capacity.

2) Beams (main beams, secondary beams)

Reinforcement purpose: Enhance the bending, shear and anti-fatigue performance of the beams, to resist the concentrated load from the floor and equipment.

Reinforcement scheme: Paste carbon fiber plates on the tensile zone of the beam bottom for bending reinforcement; paste carbon fiber fabrics in the shear zone of the beam to form closed hoops for shear reinforcement; for beam-column joints, use carbon fiber fabrics to wrap the joint area to improve the seismic performance and load-bearing capacity of the joint.

3) Columns

Reinforcement purpose: Improve the axial compression capacity, bending capacity and ductility of the columns, to bear the vertical load transmitted by the beams and floors.

Reinforcement scheme: Use carbon fiber fabrics to wrap the column in a circular or square shape for confining reinforcement, which can effectively improve the axial compression capacity of the column; paste carbon fiber plates on the weak axis of the column for bending reinforcement.

4) Walls (bearing walls, shear walls)

Reinforcement purpose: Enhance the shear capacity and seismic performance of the walls, to resist the horizontal and vertical loads caused by the change of building utilization.

Reinforcement scheme: Paste carbon fiber fabrics on the surface of the shear wall to form a grid structure, which improves the overall shear capacity of the wall; for the wall corners and edge components, use carbon fiber plates to reinforce to prevent local damage.

5) Roof structures

Reinforcement purpose: Bear the additional load brought by roof attachments (solar panels, advertising billboards) and resist wind and snow loads.

Reinforcement scheme: Paste carbon fiber plates on the roof beams for bending reinforcement; use carbon fiber fabrics to reinforce the roof slabs to improve their crack resistance and bearing capacity.

Typical cases: A century-old factory building has been largely renovated and transformed into a space for creative leisure and innovation.

https://www.horseen.com/index/customer_case/content/id/628