Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johann-Dietrich Wörner
"Combar® has special characteristics which make it eminently suitable for use in concrete, while also achieving a high load-bearing capacity."
His success story
Johann-Dietrich Wörner is a professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and also former president of the TU Darmstadt, president of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) and partner at the engineering firm Wörner Nordhues Engineering. He was general director of the European Space Agency (ESA) and chairman of the board at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
A fan of Combar® from day one
In the 90s Mr Wörner was professor at the TU Darmstadt and was also significantly involved in the development of the glass fibre composite material Combar® in close collaboration with Schöck.
The initial goal was to optimise balcony connections with the Isokorb® thermal insulation element. This inspired the idea to find a new material that could be used instead of steel: replacing the steel bars with a material made of glass fibres and resin would reduce the heat conductivity further. However, the newly invented glass fibre composite material Combar® had many more benefits than just a low heat conductivity when compared to conventional steel. Owing to many other inherent characteristics, of Combar® it qualifies for a wide range of further applications in addition to the balcony connection.
At the time, Wörner was so impressed by the resulting product that even before Schöck Combar® was launched on the market he used it in the suspended ceiling of an extension to his own home in the 90s.
Impressed by unusual characteristics
Unlike steel, Combar® exhibits no ferromagnetic effect. The glass-fibre composite reinforcement can therefore be used in components in experimental laboratories for example where magnetic waves are not permitted. The rustproof glass fibre composite material is also the safe option for components in highly corrosive environments. Combar® is also much lighter than steel and is therefore easy to transport and install.
Combar® also has roughly the same coefficient of expansion as concrete and a high load-bearing capacity – ideal characteristics for using in concrete.