Content area
Full Text
Carbon Polymer Technology (CPT) is a unique, low-energy heating innovation developed and manufactured by Inditherm plc based near Rotherham, UK.
Professor Pal Mangat at the Centre for Infrastructure Management (CIM), Sheffield Hallam University, recognised the huge potential for CPT over three years ago and since then has been working closely with Inditherm to define potential applications within the construction industry and to refine the technology, in particular, the organisations have been researching how to improve the manufacture of precast concrete, accelerating strength gain and protecting against low ambient conditions for in-situ concreting.
The technology
The CPT thermal material is a low-resistance, flexible fabric that provides uniform heat distribution without the localised hot or cold spots often associated with existing concrete curing methods, such as steam or trace heating. The material can be configured to various dimensions/elements to fit individual applications, providing surface heat densities of up to 300W/m^sup 2^.
Sandwiched into an insulated heating blanket as little as 6mm thick, Inditherm's CPT can run on voltages between 24-50v and can provide highly controlled temperature profiles up to 120°C.
Joint development work has investigated the benefits of the technology with respect to performance, energy savings, the quality of concrete produced, the potential to reduce...