Protection of river banks and bridges with UHPC technology

At a meeting of local councils in the alpine

region, hhbc-consulting and WPE DK were

invited as guests to discuss possible

rehabilitation and protection of river banks

and bridges. Due to climate change, especially 

in the mountainous regions, the streams and 

rivers are flooded with enormous amounts 

of water as a result of enormous amounts of 

rain and continuous snow melt. In addition 

to the water flowing at high speed, ever 

greater quantities of debris are also being 

transported. Water and debris are increasingly 

damaging bank and bridge structures. For the 

most part, they are not designed for these 

quantities.

One of the main points of this discussion,
was the rehabilitation of the massive damage
caused by scree and water masses on the
construction of the riverbanks, especially in
areas of river diversion and river guidance
in villages and towns.

Particularly the rising water masses among
other things by massive lasting rains and
resulting high flow velocities with scree
movements give rise to concern.

As one of the possible solutions for the future,
the use of UHPC Ultra High Performance
Concrete as a refurbishment material and as
construction material for renewed protective
installation was discussed.

UHPC concrete would offer concrete with its
extreme strength (over 140 MPa - 240 MPa),
very high wear resistance and extremely high
corrosion resistance.

In addition, a joint-free processing is possible.

Due to these characteristics, the design of river

banks and river diversions with artificial rock

constructions made of UHPC was discussed.

As assembly methods for UHPC, assembly

pre-fabricated elements, casting or spray-on-site

(Shotcrete) assembly was discussed.

Since UHPC develop within 48 hours 70% of its

nominal strength are very fast in assembly methods

and thus the repair time is very short.

Due to the many years of experience we have in
offshore and coastal areas, first projects have
been agreed.

UHPC concrete in the petroleum production and processing industry

In the oil producing and processing industry,
UHPC Ultra high Performance concrete can
and will be used in a variety of applications
such as securing material, repair material,
construction material, wear protection and
corrosion protection used.

For the use of offshore platforms UHPC is an
ideal construction, repair and corrosion material.
UHPC can be processed without problems in humid
environments. UHPC is water-permeable even in
low layer thicknesses. UHPC is absolutely saltwater
resistant and can be processed underwater. UHPC in
its high temperature version can be used up to
1000°C/1832°F continuous temperature. UHPC
retains much of its strength at this temperature,
whereas steel has long lost its strength. UHPC is
extremely resistant to rapid temperature fluctuations.

In crude oil processing UHPC can be used as
corrosion protection, wear protection, safety
construction or as construction material.

UHPC concrete are also particularly suitable for the
fracking industry and as oilwell cement.

In the oil refineries and oil ports, UHPC is a perfect

material for all security components. Here, security
can also be interpreted as security against terrorist
attacks. UHPC is extremely corrosion-resistant and
liquid-tight from a wall thickness of 10 mm. Pipes
can be protected against wear and corrosion from
the inside. Important and sensitive constructions
can be permanently protected against temperature
and wear with UHPC. There are already plans to
construct complete crude oil tanks from UHPC. In
case of fires, they would maintain their strength even
at extreme temperatures. Security-related buildings

and production facilities can be protected against a
terrorist attack. Port facilities and loading and
unloading jetty facilities can be permanently
protected against seawater corrosion.

Mixer for UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete

What is the use of the best UHPC Ultra
High Performance Concrete product if
you do not have the right mixer to mix
this product perfectly? If possible, a
mixer can handle casting compound,
mortar and Shotcrete mass without it
has an effect on the finished UHPC
product.
There are a lot of different mixer types
in the international market. Some may
mix casting compound, other mortar
compound and yet another Shotcrete

mass. Only a few can mix all the masses
well and few of them can mix the UHPC
products perfectly.
We prefer more than 25 years compulsory
mixers or pan pot mixers called. They
have never disappointed us on all our
international construction sites. They are
very sturdy, at least we use and they are
very easy to handle.

Different mixers can be used for different

requirements and markets.

In general, shaft or pan pot mixers are the

best choice for all applications and markets.
For industrial applications such as Offshore,

wear protection, industrial flooring, corrosion

protection, etc., where the highest quality

requirements are set, the best mixers must

also be used, i.e. pan pot or shaft mixer.
Furthermore, our UHPC requires mortar

qualities for mixing powerful pan pot or

shaft mixers.

When mixing UHPC Cast, we recommend

using pan pot or shaft mixers. It is also

possible to mix with standard UHPC Cast

material. With smaller quantities of UHPC

Cast it is also possible to use a hand mixer.
We have used a large number of mixers

worldwide in our more than 25 years of

assembly work. Most mixers failed because

they are underpowered. It is just a difference

to mix a UHPC or a standard concrete.

For our customers we have put together an

information brochure about mixers, which

you can get from us free of charge in paper

format or as a download.

Laboratory mixing devices can also be used

for small quantities of up to one kilogram of

mixing material or, if the performance is right,

kitchen mixing devices can also be used.
We and our worldwide partners have pan pot

or shaft mixers with different services in our

workshop. You can hire these mixers for

processing on request.
You can also get a list of international mixer

manufacturers with whom we have already

worked.

www.hhbc-consulting.de
info@hhbc-consulting.de

Precast elements and Tilt-up manufacturing with HPC and UHPC concrete

HPC and UHPC concrete are very suitable for processing on the construction site in the Tilt-up system or in precast concrete plant. Residential housing and industrial buildings of all sizes can be manufactured using these two systems.

HPC and UHPC concrete has a long list of advantages over standard concrete

- High tensile strength- Extremely high compressive strength
- Very fast strength development
- UHPC elements have a very high production accuracy. If the mold is   exact, the element is exact.
- High chemical resistant
- Absolute corrosion resistant
- Even small layers already lead to an absolute waterproofness.

- Customer requirements such as burglary resistant, fire resistant, storm resistant and acoustic properties as well as noise reduction can be easily met.
- Combinations with a high-performance insulation layer reduce energy costs by several times compared to wooden houses or brick houses.
- The required wall thicknesses are only a fraction of comparable housing designs.

Tilt-up elements
Tilt-up elements are manufactured using locally produced molds and concrete in a wide variety
of HPC and UHPC concretes produced by us achieve 70% of their nominal strength in just 48 hours, the average nominal strength of our UHPC concretes is 140 MPa / 20000 psi.

Due to the compessive and flexuaral strength, it is possible to work with considerably smaller wall thicknesses, which leads to substantial material reductions and costs.
The extremely fast development of strength leads to faster assembly, the overall completion time is significantly reduced, which can also lead to cost reduction.

Precast elements
Prefabricated systems have been used in Europe for more than 50 years. There is a huge amount of standard residential house design variations from small houses, garages, workshops to entire building

complexes. Architects design exceptional prefabricated houses according to customer requirements. The elements are already manufactured and prepared weeks in advance in a precast plant, so that only a few days are needed on the construction site for a complete completion.
The advantage is the very small footprint on site.
The elements come with trucks in the correct assembly order on the construction site. A crane positions the elements and very few fitters are needed for assembly. It can be installed all year round, regardless of the weather contitions.