Offshore hydrogen storage system made of UHPC concrete

Standard concrete can suffer various problems due to hydrogen, especially in special applications such as
hydrogen storage or hydrogen pipelines. The main problems are:

1. Micro-cracking due to hydrogen pressure

• Problem: hydrogen is a small molecule that can enter pores and micro-cracks in concrete. When hydrogen is under high pressure in these pores, it can expand the pores and enlarge cracks.
  
• Consequences:
  
• weakening of the mechanical strength of the concrete.
  
• Progressive damage due to cyclic loading.

Due to its very high density, UHPC has significantly fewer problems with this issue and its consequences.

 

2. Damage due to hydrogen embrittlement (indirect)

• Problem: Hydrogen does not chemically attack concrete, but it can embrittle steel reinforcement elements embedded in the concrete. This is referred to as hydrogen embrittlement.
  
• Consequences:
  
• Reduction in load-bearing capacity due to cracking and failure of the reinforcement steel.
  
• Shortening of the service life of the concrete structure.
  

Due to the very high material density, possible hydrogen embrittlement occurs after aconsiderably longer period of time and to a small extent. 

 

3. Reaction with free ions and moisture

• Problem: Hydrogen can react with moisture and chemical compounds in the concrete (e.g. calcium hydroxide), creating by-products such as water or hydroxide ions.
  
• Consequences:
  
• Alteration of the chemical composition of the concrete, which can lead to a reduction in alkalinity.
  
• Accelerated corrosion of the reinforcement due to the loss of the passivation effect.

Occurs to a much lesser extent in UHPC

4. Pore structure and permeability

• Problem: Hydrogen can easily diffuse through the pore structure of concrete due to its small molecular size, especially in porous or poorly compacted concrete.
  
• Consequences:
  
• Loss of tightness, which is critical for hydrogen storage tanks or pipes.
  
• The ingress of hydrogen causes pressure build-up and damage.

Hydrogen can only penetrate UHPC concrete very slowly and under high pressure because UHPC concrete is an extremely dense material.

5. Increased risk of a hydrogen fire

• Problem: If hydrogen escapes from the concrete (e.g. through diffusion or crack formation), there is a risk of a hydrogen fire, as hydrogen is highly flammable.
  
• Consequences:
  
• Safety risk for the surrounding area.
  
• Additional thermal stress on the concrete.

Due to its high material density and strength, the risk is only present to a very limited extent
with UHPC concrete.

Ultra-high performance concrete offers many advantages, but requires careful planning and adaptation when exposed to hydrogen, especially in demanding applications such as hydrogen storage or transport lines.

UHPC Concrete for windturbine floating systems

UHPC Ultra High Performance concrete has over twenty years of experience in the offshore industry. It is used as a construction material and as a corrosion protection material.
For floating windturbine constructions, UHPC offers
many advantages over steel constructions and
concrete constructions.

UHPC is absolutely seawater resistant and does not corrode. Most of the extremely expensive and maintenance-intensive corrosion protection systems are no longer necessary.
UHPC achieves extremely high strength values    (max.240 MPa / 34800 psi) even without steel, fiber or ceramic reinforcement. 

UHPC can be used as a cast material, spray material and as a mortar material.
UHPC reaches approx. 70% of its maximum nomina strength after 48 hours.
UHPC is self-compacting in casting. During casting,
UHPC develops significantly less heat than standard concrete. Problems like corrosion in weld seams do  not exist with UHPC.

A corrosion protection coating of the UHPC construction is not necessary.  

Due to the high strength values, the entire construction can be optimized for the required wall thickness and thus weight. There is also the option of using low weight UHPC. These UHPC are half the density of our standard construction UHPC. There is also a UHPC that swims with a density below 1. UHPC concrete can be manufactured and mixed locally on site. Costly transports can be omitted. For assembly stations in Arab, African and Indian countries, we could offer a binder that can be manufactured and mixed with desert sand. This would eliminate the need for additional, costly transports.

 

 

WPE DK International

Phone: 0049 176 601 73146
E-mail: info@wpe-dk.dk
Homepage: www.wpe-dk.com

Living and working on water and under water with UHPC as construction material

Since than 30 years, UHPC Ultra High
Performance Concrete has been used
worldwide in the offshore sector as
a foundation, repair and construction material.
In offshore wind power technology, UHPC
is used as a floating foundation construction.

Deep sea constructions with UHPC have
also been successfully tested down to a
depth of 3500 m / 11480ft. Together with a  
German university, we tested dome 
constructions with different concrete 
qualities and UHPC. Only UHPC was able 
to withstand the enormous water pressure.

Likewise, energy storage systems for

offshore wind turbines are currently being
developed, which consist of hollow concrete
balls measuring over 30 m in diameter,
which are sunk to a depth of 300 m. These
energy storage systems would also be ideal
for supplying energy to floating cities.

Living and working on water and under water
can be realized sustainably and without an
problems with UHPC Ultra High Performance
Concrete materials.

The first serious projects are already planned
and are about to be realized. International
architect groups are already working on
self-sufficient cities above and under water.
UHPC is an important building construction
material for the designs, which are designed for
extreme longevity with very little to no
maintenance.

The advantages are

• Absolute seawater resistance
• Extreme corrosion resistance
• Extreme compressive strength
• Extreme tensile strengths
• Almost any design geometry can be made
• Material combinations of all kinds are easily possible
• Installation methode same as standard concrete

UHPC for maximum safety and performance

Today, UHPC concrete is used as a construction
material all over the world for maximum safety
and performance. One example of this are the
transport tubes for the Hyperloop system.
Tubular elements made of UHPC concrete have
already been manufactured here for test purposes. 

UHPC concrete is constantly evolving in terms
of its technical material properties and application.
We expect further big changes in our UHPC
material development in the next few years,
which go far beyond what we have so far. Many
materials such as standard concrete or standard
steel will no longer be able to follow this.

WPE DK International

Phone: 0049 176 601 73146
E-mail: info@wpe-dk.dk
Homepage: www.wpe-dk.com

Final storage of radioactive substances in special UHPC concrete container or strong rooms

One way to encapsulate such substances more

safely and cost-effectively than is currently

practiced is to pour into UHPC Ultra High

Performance Concrete blocks. UHPC has a

large number of advantages over the previous

storage in barrels of different material quality

and pouring into glass.

The advantages of new designs are:

 - UHPC is very easy to process as a casting

    and spraying compound.

 - UHPC has an extremely high pressure

    resistance compared to all standard concretes

 - UHPC is completely waterproof

 - What is poured into UHPC can not corrode

    anymore

 - UHPC is saltwater resistant
 - UHPC also hardens under water

 - UHPC in its high temperature version can

   be used at continuous temperatures up to

   1200°C/ 2192°F. This means that the

   UHPC HT (High Temperature) block is

   stable with internal temperature increase

   as well as with external fire.

   A secure above-ground storage against

   theft is possible because the blocks are heavy,

   large and therefore unwieldy for a quick

   removal. Getting the radioactive material out

   of the block is only possible with extreme

   effort and tools and time.

 - UHPC is based on nanotechnology, the material 

   particles are extremely fine. Almost allother

   particles are surrounded by this glue from

   extremely fine particles. Even with a break of a 

   UHPC block, the foreign matter is firmly trapped

   in the debris.

- It is easy to mix radiation-reducing materials into

   the block

-  UHPC concretes can be very good heat-insulating 

   or very good heat-conducting. It's just a question 

   of the UHPC concrete mixture

The advantages of sealing existing deposits are

• UHPC casting compounds can have a very high                       flowability and easily penetrate into cracks and                          joints and seal them.
• UHPC casting compounds are self-compacting.
• All casting compounds are pumpable and sprayable
• All casting compounds reach more than 70%                            after 48 hours

 

 

WPE DK International

Phone: 0049 176 601 73146
E-mail: info@wpe-dk.dk
Homepage: www.wpe-dk.com

 

Pipeline repair in a potash mine

When I visited a potash mine, I noticed this "cemetery"

of used pipe parts for the hydraulic potash extraction.

There are around 200 pipe parts of different diameters,

lengths, angles and radius. All parts that were specially

manufactured for this production. The pipe parts are all

lined with cast basalt and have a 3-component

anti-corrosion coating. On average, these new pipe parts

cost EUR 700.00 / piece. So there is a value of at least

EUR 140,000.00. Since the pipe parts show more or less

wear damage, all should be disposed of. The disposal

costs amount to at least EUR 12,000.00. The new price

for the pipe is approx. 156,000.00 EUR and the delivery

time is at least 3-4 months.

I explained to the plant management that we can repair

all the pipe parts. We would remove the existing and

partially worn cast basalt lining and replace it with a

new UHPC wear protection lining. I calculated the

budget costs for this at EUR 66,000.00. The repair work

takes approximately 2 months. Here, however, we could

orient ourselves according to the wishes regarding the

installation sequence to the customer and always repair

the pipe parts that he needs at short notice.

Our customer decided on a new lining instead of a new

production and saved 90,000.00 EUR and at least 1-2

months delivery time.

Today there are no more "cemeteries" for used pipeline

parts in his plants.

www.hhbc-consulting.de

info@hhbc-consulting.de

We increase the sustainability of UHPC

With our high-performance UHPC products, we started

using sustainable products years ago. We are also

increasingly focusing on sustainability when it comes

to units for our UHPC binders.

One example is corundum, which we use as an aggregate,

among other things. Corundum can be produced as

synthetic corundum with very high energy consumption

or can be mined as natural corundum in open-cast mining.

We have chosen natural corundum for more than 15 years.

Together with our partner in Africa, we pay attention to a

nature-friendly mining and an equally nature-friendly

restoration of the surface areas. The natural corundum

mined by our partner has proven to be an almost perfect

unit for our UHPC over many hundreds of applications

in the offshore industry, architecture, wear protection

and security industry.

Another problematic aggregate of quartz sand, we can

completely replace today with desert sand, including

from Africa. The technical values ​​of desert sand

concrete are far above the best standard concrete.

In our opinion, it is not necessary to destroy beaches

and rivers by sand mining. The cost of desert sand

mining is many times less than the predatory mining

of river sand or beach sand.

As far as the reinforcement systems or fiber systems

are concerned, nature offers us very sustainable

products that can be used in combination with

high-quality UHPC binder systems to create a perfect

sustainable product.

Our goal is always to produce UHPC binder systems

so flexibly that we can always use a high proportion

of local raw materials.

WPE DK International

Phone: 0049 176 601 73146
E-mail: info@wpe-dk.dk
Homepage: www.wpe-dk.com

 

UHPC design for Gas, Hydrogen and E- loading station

Gas, Hydrogen and E-loading stations should get a UHPC concrete design. Every future energy filling station design should be unique.

We want to get away from the standard unit sheet design. The idea is to create bold, curved, interesting roof structures, possibly greened and provided with solar panels made from our UHPC concrete. 

No armada of petrol pumps, which you will not need in the future,
but a few dispensers in combination with e-charging stations, for cars, trucks, motorcycles and e-bikes. The petrol pumps / charging stations are to get a design from historical to futuristic. In addition to a bar, would be possible, for example, a sports bar or snack bar after American Hard Rock Style or French Bisto. No supermarket where you can
chance to refuel. In addition to the bar, a workshop should be connected for special vehicle types, perhaps historic vehicle types. No mass repair, the vehicle owner may be present during the repair and possibly see from the sports bar howhis vehicle is being repaired.

Our UHPC team will create a gas stationthat is not a fast transit station, but a place to stay and meet, built with the utmost sustainability.

The first specifications are about to be completed, some architects have alreadysent their ideas and the first interested parties and investors have invited us to talks.

The gas station of today, is a dying system, which will not survive. In a very short time, there will be fewer and fewer gasoline powered vehicles in many countries. The new vehicle types will be powered by electricity or hydrogen. The gasoline powered vehicles will then be more and more vehicles, which one will call historical vehicles. These historic vehicles will, as they always do today, have their fans and drive on the streets.

Green bus roofs made of UHPC design

Insects are essential for the survival of humans and
nature. The cycle of nature would be decisively
disturbed, if not interrupted, by the death of many
species of insects.
The idea of ​​us and more and more architects was
the insects to rebuild a habitat in the cities. One
possibility is the vertical gardens or green facades.
In our opinion, quick support for the insects is the
greening of roofs of bus stops. They are small areas
but they are spread all over the city and not like a
facade in one place.
Architects find the idea incredibly good, as the bus
stops usually have a bad design. Roof greening
makes it possible to make bus stops an interesting
design element in the cities. Meanwhile, there is a
veritable ideas hype.


Why UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete?
1. UHPC can be used to produce UHPC precast
concrete elements with a minimum thickness of
10 - 15 mm / 0.4 - 0.6 inches.

2. UHPC achieves 70% of its nominal strength
in just 48 hours, which means many advantages
for finished element production.

3. UHPC elements are absolutely corrosion
resistant

4. All design ideas can be realized with UHPC

5. Due to the low weight, the assembly can be
carried out quickly and without effort

6. Our UHPC concrete can be easily combined
with a variety of other materials such as glass,
metals and wood combined.

7. We intentionally do without the use of plastics
in our design

8. The stops can reach a lifetime of at least 60 years

9. Our UHPC is absolutely resistant to de-icing salt.

10. The bus stop area is filled with a combination
of asphalt and UHPC. This makes this area highly
wear-resistant even at temperatures up to 90°C / 194°F



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

UHPC - Environmental and Sustainability

The hhbc-consulting and WPE DK Team feel responsible for
working in close cooperation with architects,
designers, engineers, urban planners and
construction companies for a more sustainable
future.

Development of UHPC

Already during the development of UHPC Binder,
our goal is to use raw materials that are as
environmentally friendly and energy-efficient
as possible in production. At the suppliers of
cementitious binder systems, we pay attention to

their activities regarding environmental protection
and sustainability. Microsilica as well as fly ash
are waste products that we reuse but they come
from processes that consume enormous amounts
of energy. That is why we use these products in
very controlled quantities. In some of our UHPC
products we have been able to do without
microsilica or fly ash.
We plan to set up production facilities in Asia,
North America, South America and Africa in
order to use local resources and to limit
transport routes to a minimum.

Processing of UHPC

Our UHPC products can be mixed with 50% less
water than standard concretes. The water cement
value in our products is 0.2 to 1.8. In some
countries of the world there is a permanent lack
of water, which is only balanced with seawater
treatment plants that consume considerable
amounts of energy. If less water is needed for the
inforastructure, there is more drinking water for
the people.
Only sand is required for processing our UHPC
binders to concretes with a compressive strength
above 100 MPa and no gravel.
Due to the low precast weights the energy
consumption to the transport of production to site
is much lower.
As a substitute for the admixture of sand, a wide
variety of recycled materials can be used. Our
UHPC binder systems are ideal combination partners.

We have developed a new UHPC binder system that

can completely dispense with the previously
required sand and gravel qualities. Which will
drastically reduce the depletion of sands in the river
and coastal areas and the high-energy international
export.
In the future, we plan to drastically reduce the
production of UHPC materials in accordance with
our quality guidelines to various countries with
local raw materials in order to reduce the
high-energy material transports.

Application of UHPC

Due to the high compressive strength, the component
geometries can be selected smaller compared to
standard concretes, which leads to lower material
consumption and thus to lower component weights.
Our UHPC materials are many times more resistant to
all environmental influences than standard concretes.
Thus, the expected lifetime is several times higher than
standard concrete with almost no repair.
Even today, UHPC materials can completely replace
steel constructions in many areas and achieve a multiple
service life without corrosion protection and repair work.

From our high-density, buoyant UHPC concretes, ships
or islands with high load-bearing capacity and service
life can already be produced today. UHPC materials
are absolutely resistant to seawater.

The better the concrete quality is and with UHPC concrete
it is many times better than with standard concrete, the
longer the usage phase.

UHPC - Use in recycling plants

UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete
application in recycling plants for

• Synthetic substance - Recycling
• Plastic - Recycling
• Military equipment - Recycling
• Paper - Recycling
• Metal - Recycling
• Precious metal - Recycling
• PCBs - Recycling
• Nuclear - Recycling

The reprocessing of paper, plastic, chemical 
waste, rubber and metals has become an 
extremely important commodity market for 
the producing industry. Much more metal 
raw material is recovered from reprocessing 
than mining.
The material required for reprocessing is 
stored on large exterior and interior surfaces. 
Here, the bearing surfaces are mechanically 
attacked as well as the corrosive liquids 
extremely.
Many existing concrete surfaces show 
considerable damage, which does not 
guarantee the smooth and safe transport 
of the stored goods for reprocessing.
UHPC floor systems are best suited for 
these loads due to their hardness and 
wear resistance. These floor systems are 
laid without joints. Due to the very high 
material density, penetration of corrosive 
liquid with professional installation is 
almost impossible.

UHPC floor and pavementsystems are 
UHPC Phalt and UHPC TopLayer.

UHPC Phalt is a combination of traditional
asphalt with UHPC concrete. The result is a
ground or street blast with the flexibility of asphalt 
and the very high compressive strength and 
wear resistance of UHPC concrete. The 
processing and processing time is extremely 
easy and cost effective.
UHPC TopLayer are floor coverings made of 
UHPC concrete for very high mechanical loads. 
The material thickness is only a fraction of 
standard screeds or concretes.
UHPC TopLayer are extremely corrosion 
resistant and can be installed almost on any 
flooring. UHPC TopLayer achieve compressive 
strengths of far more than 140 MPa


Applications
- Indoor and outdoor pavements in storage areas
- Roads
- Material bunker
- Chutes
- Pneumatic transport systems
- Scrapyard pavement
- Dedusting systems

Benefits for UHPC Wear Protection
- Flexible layer thickness
- Overhead installation possible
- Jointless installation
- Extreme high compressive strength
- Very high wear resistant
- Very good corrosion resistant
- Adapts each of surface geometry
- Fast curing at ambient temperature

Benefits UHPC Phalt and UHPC Top layer
- Extreme high tensile strength
- Extreme high impact resistance and ductility
- The jointless surface prohibits damages on trucks
- Can be applied thin on even the weakest base
- Freeze/thaw resistance
- Fast curing -short stop time
- Cost efficient alternative where a weak base
  requires a change in both wearing course and
  course



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

The future of offshore wind energy with UHPC

Monopile wind turbine designs are still the most widely used standard foundation design in many coastal areas.
Jackets, Gravity base, Tripods and Tri-piles systems are also used depending on requirements and needs.
UHPC is used in all foundation techniques.

Monopiles

UHPC grouting material is used for the connection between monopile and transition pieces.
Monopiles have been deployed with even larger turbines in even deeper waters, currently up to 41 meters. 9 diameter monopiles are now in production. We estimate that more than 2000 monopiles worldwide have been installed with UHPC grouting and transitions pieces.

Benefits

• Extremely high strength
• Very good fatigue properties
• Minimal shrinkage
• Extreme bond between UHPC grouting material and steel
• Fast setting development
• Very high inner cohesion
• No mixing with sea water
• Absolutly seawater resistant
• Very low hydration heat
• No corrosion

Jackets
Jackets are generally considered to be better than monopiles for seabeds where the substrate is poor or deeper water. So here UHPC can be used in the "transition piece" and in the lower foundation.

Gravity foundations
Are well suited for rocky sea beds. The complete foundation system can be manufactured on land and then pulled into position with a ship and then sunk. Depending on the design, the entire foundation piece can be made from UHPC

The future - with floating foundation design

This includes

• Spar
• Semi-submersible
• Barge
• Tension-leg platform

Spars
First systems are already being tested. In the near future, a wind farm with spar systems is to be built off Scotland.
These systems can reach total lengths of over 90 meters, with about 75 m of them underwater. The entire underwater area can be made of UHPC.

Semi-submersible
Similar to the Spars, the whole underwater construction can be made of UHPC.

Barge
Barge systems are actually classic pontoon systems. There are now UHPC concrete available which in addition to their high strength also swim without the large cavities inside the barge must be generated.

 

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