MC-Bauchemie MC-CarbonFiber Lamella
A pultruded carbon-fibre plate that adds steel-beating tensile capacity to beams, slabs and columns without adding bulk, weight, or corrosion risk.
What is it?
A pre-cured, pultruded unidirectional carbon-fibre epoxy laminate strip — a rigid CFRP plate, not a wet-laid fabric — bonded externally to structural members to add tensile and flexural capacity.
Where is it used?
Soffits of RCC beams and slabs, columns, bridge girders, and masonry or timber structural members needing a strength, stiffness, or deflection upgrade, on both new-build and retrofit projects.
Why use it?
Restores or increases load-carrying capacity and controls deflection and crack width, letting engineers add strength without thickening the member or resorting to heavy, corrosion-prone bolted steel plates.
How is it applied?
The substrate is grit-blasted, dried to ≤6% residual moisture and levelled with MC-CarboSolid 1000 where needed; the release film is peeled off the lamella, MC-CarboSolid 1280 epoxy adhesive is applied, and the strip is pressed on and left to cure without propping — always to a structural engineer’s design and by an MC-certified applicator.
About MC-Bauchemie MC-CarbonFiber Lamella
MC-CarbonFiber Lamella is MC-Bauchemie’s pre-cured, pultruded CFRP strengthening plate — a rigid black strip, not a wet-laid fabric, produced by pulling continuous unidirectional carbon fibre through an epoxy resin bath and curing it into a factory-controlled laminate. That manufacturing route is what gives the lamella its headline number: tensile strength of 3,200 N/mm² or more, several times what mild steel reinforcement offers, packed into a strip roughly a millimetre or two thick. For a structural engineer looking at an under-designed beam soffit, a slab that now has to carry heavier floor loads than it was built for, or a girder that lost section to corrosion, that combination — very high strength, negligible added thickness, negligible added weight — is usually the whole reason CFRP gets specified over jacketing the member in extra concrete or bolting on steel plates.
The system comes in two fibre grades that Space Arc’s design team will help select rather than the site engineer guessing. The standard-modulus 160/2800 type trades a bit of stiffness for more elongation before failure (E-modulus ≥164,000 N/mm², elongation ≥1.8%), which suits most flexural strengthening where ductility matters. The high-modulus 200/3000 type is stiffer and less elastic (E-modulus ≥190,000 N/mm², elongation ≥1.5%), useful where deflection control is the governing criterion rather than raw capacity. Both are supplied on 100 m coils in standard 50/1.2, 80/1.2, 100/1.4 and 120/1.4 mm width/thickness profiles, cut to length on site, and installed as part of MC’s own bonded system — MC-CarboSolid 1280 epoxy adhesive, MC-CarboSolid 1000 levelling mortar and bond coat, and Colusal VL corrosion-protection primer for any exposed steel — rather than being left to whatever adhesive happens to be on the truck.
The technical insight
The number that actually matters on a strengthening drawing isn’t tensile strength alone, it’s the E-modulus, because that governs how much force the lamella picks up per unit strain once it’s acting compositely with the existing concrete. That’s why MC offers two grades rather than one: the 160/2800 standard-modulus type (≥164,000 N/mm² characteristic E-modulus, ≥1.8% elongation) behaves more like conventional reinforcement — it strains further before it’s fully engaged — while the 200/3000 high-modulus type (≥190,000 N/mm², ≥1.5% elongation) picks up load faster and stiffer but has less reserve strain to give. A beam being strengthened purely to pass an ultimate-capacity check often wants the standard grade; a slab where the governing problem is excessive deflection or crack width usually wants the stiffer high-modulus type. Getting that choice wrong doesn’t necessarily cause failure, but it can mean paying for capacity the structure didn’t need, or under-delivering on the deflection control the retrofit was actually commissioned for — which is exactly why MC gates application behind its own DIBt-approval design methodology rather than treating the lamella as a generic strengthening tape.
Where it is used
- Flexural strengthening of RCC beam and slab soffits where imposed floor loads have increased beyond the original design (added machinery, extra storage racking, change of building use)
- Shear strengthening of beams and columns using lamella strips oriented vertically or diagonally across the member
- Seismic retrofit of existing RCC framed structures as part of a wider structural upgrade scheme
- Repair and capacity restoration of beams or slabs where reinforcement has corroded or was under-designed relative to current code
- Strengthening around newly cut openings in slabs and beams for services, staircases or lift shafts
- Deflection and crack-width control in serviceability-distressed members without increasing member depth
- Retrofit reinforcement of masonry and timber structural elements, particularly in older or heritage buildings
- Bridge girder soffits and multi-level parking structure decks needing a load-rating upgrade
Key advantages
- Tensile strength ≥3,200 N/mm² at a fraction of a steel plate’s cross-section — real strengthening without eating into headroom or floor-to-floor height
- Density of just 1.6 kg/dm³ (roughly a fifth the mass of an equivalent steel section) means no crane or heavy rigging for installation
- Carbon fibre doesn’t corrode, removing the recurring maintenance load that bonded steel plates eventually create in Indian humidity and monsoon exposure
- Supplied ready-to-use with a protective release film on both adhesive faces, so the lamella itself needs no on-site degreasing or roughening
- Backed by a German DIBt general building authority approval (Z-36.12-85), giving the structural engineer a recognised technical basis to design against rather than a manufacturer’s claim alone
- One-manufacturer matched system — adhesive, levelling mortar, bond coat and corrosion primer are all MC products engineered to work together, removing compatibility guesswork
- Two fibre grades (standard-modulus 160/2800 and high-modulus 200/3000) let the designer choose between more elongation or more stiffness depending on whether capacity or deflection control governs
- No propping required while the adhesive cures, which keeps a strengthening job from shutting the strengthened floor or bay down for long
Limitations & considerations
- Application is restricted to installers holding MC’s own CFRP applicator certification — this is not general contractor or DIY-suitable work
- Requires a structural engineer to run the design to the DIBt Z-36.12-85 methodology or an equivalent verified approach before any strip goes up
- Substrate must be sound, dry (residual moisture ≤6%) and properly prepared, typically by grit or granulate blasting — weak or damp preparation undermines the bond and negates the product’s benefit
- Exposed lamella needs a separate UV/weathering-protection coating outdoors, and separate mechanical protection where impact risk exists — both add cost beyond the lamella itself
- Bonded CFRP has no inherent fire rating, so exposed strengthening in fire-rated zones needs a fire-protection overlay specified and budgeted separately
- Being a flat, pre-cured pultrusion, the standard lamella isn’t suited to tightly curved members — columns and shell structures need MC’s flexible CF-sheet (CF-Gelege) wrap system instead
Selection & best practice
Treat this as an engineered system, not a material you buy off the shelf and apply. Every job needs a structural analysis sized to the DIBt Z-36.12-85 approval (or an equivalent verified design), and Space Arc only deploys applicators carrying MC’s own CFRP application certification — this isn’t work for a general waterproofing or repair crew. On site, get the substrate right before the lamella arrives: sound, dry to ≤6% residual moisture, free of dust and grease, typically prepared by grit or granulate blasting, and levelled with MC-CarboSolid 1000 where the surface profile is uneven. Peel the protective film off the lamella only immediately before bonding, mix MC-CarboSolid 1280 exactly to the manufacturer’s ratio, and never bend the strip at a right angle or subject it to sharp lateral pressure — it’s a rigid pultrusion, not a flexible fabric. Once bonded, any lamella left exposed outdoors needs a surface protection/UV coating, and any strip in a mechanical-impact zone or a fire-rated area needs its own protective overlay — build that into the cost from day one, not as an afterthought.
Specifications
| System / chemistry | Unidirectional carbon fibre in an epoxy resin matrix, pultruded (pre-cured) laminate |
| Type / grade | 160/2800 (standard-modulus) or 200/3000 (high-modulus) |
| Density | 1.6 kg/dm³ |
| Tensile strength | ≥ 3,200 N/mm² |
| E-modulus, characteristic | ≥ 164,000 N/mm² (160/2800) / ≥ 190,000 N/mm² (200/3000) |
| E-modulus, mean | ≥ 168,000 N/mm² (160/2800) / ≥ 200,000 N/mm² (200/3000) |
| Elongation at break | ≥ 1.8% (160/2800) / ≥ 1.5% (200/3000) |
| Fibre content | ≥ 68 Vol.-% |
| Standard profiles (width x thickness) / roll length | 50×1.2, 80×1.2, 100×1.4, 120×1.4 mm; supplied on 100 m coils; min. bending roll diameter 0.9 m |
Industry use cases
Commercial / office retrofit
Bottom-face flexural lamella bonded to an RCC floor beam to permit a heavier fit-out load — server racks, dense storage, or a change of tenant use — beyond the building’s original design load.
Industrial / warehouse
Strengthening existing plant beams and columns to carry a new overhead crane, mezzanine, or higher-capacity racking system without demolishing and recasting the member.
Residential / older building repair
Restoring beam capacity after an unauthorised opening was cut into a slab or beam for a staircase, lift shaft, or duct run.
Infrastructure
Bridge girder soffit strengthening to restore or upgrade a load rating without widening or replacing the span.
Institutional / seismic retrofit
Shear and flexural upgrade of RCC frame members as part of a broader seismic strengthening scheme for schools, hospitals, or public buildings.
Frequently asked questions
Can any contractor apply MC-CarbonFiber Lamella, or does it need special certification?
How is the lamella different from a carbon fibre wrap or sheet?
Does the lamella need painting or fireproofing after installation?
What adhesive is used to bond the lamella, and is it sold separately?
What’s the practical difference between the 160/2800 and 200/3000 grades?
Can it be used on masonry or timber, or only on RCC?
How we position MC-Bauchemie MC-CarbonFiber Lamella
MC-CarbonFiber Lamella sits inside MC-Bauchemie’s structural strengthening range alongside MC-CarboSolid 1280 (the epoxy adhesive that bonds it), MC-CarboSolid 1000 and 1000 BC (levelling mortar and bond coat for uneven substrates), and Colusal VL (corrosion-protection primer for any exposed steel mounting plates) — Space Arc supplies these as one specified system rather than mixing brands. Where a member is curved or fully wrapped rather than a flat soffit — columns, shell structures — MC’s own CF-sheet (CF-Gelege) fabric system is the sibling product to reach for instead of forcing a rigid lamella onto a shape it can’t follow. Outside the MC range, Fosroc’s Nitowrap XL is the closest genuine equivalent available through Space Arc — also a preformed, pultruded carbon laminate — and is worth considering where a project is already standardised on Fosroc. Sika’s CarboDur system, the originator of pre-cured CFRP plate strengthening globally, is the other name specifiers sometimes shortlist, though Space Arc’s supply and applicator certification runs through MC-Bauchemie and Fosroc.
Fosroc Nitowrap XL — A specifier who is already standardised on Fosroc’s Nitowrap strengthening range, or who wants a single-brand system across an existing Fosroc-repaired structure, might choose Nitowrap XL — Fosroc’s own preformed, pultruded carbon-fibre laminate — over bringing in a second manufacturer for the lamella alone.
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