Abstract: A composite material, particularly useful for prestressing concrete and in stay cables for cable-stayed bridges and other such uses where strength, corrosion resistance and resistance to fatigue failure are particularly important, comprises high strength wire strand coated and impregnated with an impermeable and strongly adherent epoxy based resin. The impregnated and coated epoxy increases the flexural stiffness of the composite against bending fatigue in the areas of the anchorages in dynamically loaded situations and reduces relative movement and rubbing of the wires of the strand so as to reduce fretting and hence fretting fatigue, the principal mechanism for failure in dynamically loaded strand.

Abstract: What is disclosed herein is an apparatus for producing a hot-formed product from a cast metal without homogenizing of the cast metal between a casting means and a hot-forming means. The apparatus includes a conditioning means for reducing the cross-sectional area of the cast metal with a single compression by at least 36% as the cast metal passes at substantially hot-forming temperature between the casting means and the hot-forming means. The reduction of the cross-sectional area of the cast metal by at least 36% substantially destroys the as cast dendritic structure of the cast metal prior to the cast metal being hot-formed in the hot-forming means and results in hot-forming being achieved without the splitting and cracking of the cast metal which would otherwise occur in the absence of conventional homogenizing.