Comparison of UHPC and concrete during processing to precast concrete elements

The first UHPC Ultra High Performance Binder
was developed more than 30 years ago. Since
then they have been continuously developed.
The UHPC binders have been improved or new
ones have been developed and produced in
accordance with the requirements due to their
experience in a wide variety of application areas
and industries worldwide. From the beginning,
our UHPC binders were produced as mortar,
castable and shotcrete.

UHPC castables are inexplicably used to a much
lesser extent in the production of precast concrete
than standard concrete. These UHPC materials
could offer enormous advantages for manufacturing
as well as in the use of precast concrete parts.
Here are some applications and their advantages
compared to standard concrete:

 - Light weight of the UHPC elements. Due to the
    extremely high strength, smaller component cross
    sections can be selected, which leads to lower
    individual weights.
 - More elements can be loaded per truck, which leads

   to fewer loads.
 - Due to the lower individual weights, lower crane
    capacities are required.
 - The raw material requirement is drastically reduced
    due to the smaller component cross-section.
 - UHPC materials develop high strength values ​​in a
    short time. Our UHPC materials reach 70% of their
    nominal strength after 48 hours.
 - Shorter production times per element, higher cycle
    times - higher quantities per unit of time compared
    to standard concrete - lower unit costs.
 - Shorter delivery times.

UHPC binders are based on nanotechnology and 
are extremely fine.
Advantage:
It is possible to produce much more precise shapes.
Joints, edges do not require reworking. The more
precise the mold, the more precise the UHPC
element.
UHPC concretes do not form pores and are usually
self-compacting. This means that surface structures
can be achieved that cannot be achieved with standard concrete.

UHPC concrete is extremely resistant to most 
environmental influences
Advantage:
UHPC concretes are extremely resistant to
corrosion, de-icing salt and frost, which leads to a
much longer life expectancy than standard concrete
UHPC many times exceeds concrete, marble,
limestone, sandstone and many other natural stones.


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

New world of decorative UHPC concrete

With the new UHPC materials of extremely high, consistent quality, architects and designers have created completely new possibilities for elegant, filigree design. In particular, the new extremely temperature-resistant UHPC material qualities can enable new design and construction techniques.

Kitchen

Countertop
 - with UHPC temperature resistant up to 400°C /
    752°F
 - with high temperature UHPC temperature
    resistant up to 1000°C / 1832°F
 - extremely wear-resistant
 - thin plate thickness = low weight
 - all geometries possible
 - extremely good corrosion resistance
 - elegant plate design with wood, mineral and
   metal inserts
 - thin plate design with LED light design
 - extraordinary sink design
Design of wall coverings
Exceptional floor designs
Elegant lamp design

Living room
Design of wall coverings
Exceptional floor designs in geometries, surface structures, color scheme and high wear resistance
Elegant lamp design
New design options for open fireplaces
Exceptional table top combinations and geometries

Bathroom

Complete seamless shower and bathtub systems made entirely of UHPC or in combination with other materials
Design of wall coverings
Exceptional floor designs in geometries, surface structures and color design
Elegant lamp design


Other areas
Elegant, thin-walled, self-supporting staircase constructions
Elegant design of thin-walled balcony constructions
Terrace construction of extraordinary geometries
Pool area design
Outdoor and indoor pool design

Floor and walkway panel design in geometries, surface structures, color scheme and high wear resistance

UHPC 3D printing

It is interesting to see today what printing results universities and printer manufacturers achieve.

The results are an interplay between printer technology and material technology. In my opinion today, very good results are achieved in the design areas with the printers, but many problems still have to be solved in professional architectural building construction.

There are

Compressive strength

The standard concrete reaches its maximum compressive strength after 28 days. For the printing technology unacceptable, here must be helped with accelerator. Printing speed and strength development must be matched and optimized without loss of strength.
UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete can be a solution. Strengths of over 200 MPa can be achieved here. Already during the UHPC binder production, we can adjust the strength development, as well as the flow characteristic. The addition of commercially available additives is no longer necessary.

Print speed

Of course you want an optimum speed, you want to process a large amount / weight of concrete in a very short time. The concrete should be able to support itself after a very short time and be load-bearing for ceiling elements.
With UHPC materials, large amounts of material are already processed in a short time using the wet and dry spraying process. The consistency of the UHPC print material can be adapted to the printer characteristic. UHPC materials already develop high strength values in short time in the standard qualities. However, this time can be extremely reduced by changing material production.

Statics

The print heads are usually small in diameter and the applied wall thicknesses compared to a masonry or a finished concrete wall are very thin. Static load-bearing walls can be printed for several floors, or double-skin walls must be printed in order to achieve a structurally stable construction. Do I have to print double-shelled?

Heat / cold insulation

If I print with a standard concrete I do not achieve any insulating properties. So I have to print double-shelled and fill the cavity with insulation material or retrofit an insulating layer from the inside.
At the moment we are the only ones who are able to combine a high pressure resistant material with an insulating material. This combination material is also pumpable.

Steel girders, reinforcements

Even with 3D printing, you can not ignore reinforcements and support structures, or you can remain eternally restricted to small, simple and low-rise building constructions. How can I optimally combine carrier structures, steel reinforcements with a single printing process?

Last but not least interesting design

So far I have seen the obligatory pressure bulges on all prints. For the beginning, this may be fine but soon you should have printing technologies that ensures a sharp-edged pressure even on the wall corners. A rework of the walls in the flat areas to get is cost and time consuming. Of course, when I use the printing technology, I also want to print exceptional geometry and thin-walled constructions.

I have a note at the end

If all my misgivings can be wiped out the question remains if I want to print a large building, I need a fairly large printer technology which is not even built and dismantled and I need a very fast continuous flow of material to the printer when the printer should work quickly.

I do not want to know misunderstood. I think 3D printer technology is very interesting for the future and I know that some engineering companies are working on technical solutions. As part of our material development, we also work on a flexible, extreme fast-curing, high-compressive strength material for the printer producer. In close technical agreement with the respective printer manufacturer, we can adapt our UHPC materials to the requirements and provide test material to the printer manufacturer.

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 concrete for precast production

UHPC concrete has many commercial as well as technical

advantages over standard concrete for the production of 

precast concrete elements.

More and more architects are specifying UHPC concrete 

as a standard material for their façade design. There are 

no design limits for façade constructions.
In recent years, we have developed UHPC binder systems 

that can be processed into lightweight concretes or 

insulating concretes, especially for façade construction.

- We produce UHPC materials with a strength of

   40 MPa to 240 MPa.
- Our UHPC materials reach 70% of their maximum

   nominal strength within 48 hours. Faster strength

   developments are possible on customer request.
- We only need sand, not gravel, to process UHPC

   concrete.
- With our UHPC Desert Sand Binder, desert sand

   can also be processed without any problems.
- All of our UHPC materials are self-compacting

   and need no or very little vibration.
- Our UHPC materials have extremely little to no pore

   development.
- The nanotechnology development of our UHPC

   binders enables extremely fine surface structures to

   be created.
- With the use of fibre reinforcement it is possible

   to create very thin structures of high strength.

- For prestressed elements, the pre-tensioning force
   of UHPC material can be chosen to be much higher
   due to their very high strength than standard concrete.

- Very good flow properties for casting complicated

   geometry and filigree surface structures.

Processing of UHPC binders
Only a shaft or pan pot mixer is required for

processing.
The UHPC binder is mixed with sand or desert

sand and a very small amount of water.
It is not necessary to add additives.

Applications

• Double walls 
• Pre stressed elements 
• Tubes
• Bridgedeck elements
• Stairs
• Piles
• Supports
• Tunnel segments
  
• Facade elements
  
• Balconies
• Sea defence units
  
• Floor tiles in large geometries                
  
• Security
  
• Vertical garden (facade) elements
• Sewage pipes and box culverts
• Floating elements
  

UHPC Grouting of Pile Jacket Annulus at RS 16 Platform, for ONGC, Bombay High, India

Larsen and Toubro Ltd  was engaged in installing two new platforms in the Bombay High field, but due to issues with the specified pressure grouting technique, the jacket pile connection could not be completed on the last remaining leg on the RS 16 platform.
A Danish company was contacted in April 2009 and immediately mobilised all their grouting equipment and personnel together with around 80 tons of special UHPC grouting materials to Mumbai.
UHPC grouting material was specified due to its high compressive strength and modulus of elasticity in the region of four times higher than conventional grouts. In addition, the highly viscous and cohesive nature of UHPC prevents the risk of cement particles washout or being mixed with
water, making UHPC grouting material ideal for use in underwater conditions.

Working from Sapura 3000, a DP Heavy Lift and Pipe laying Vessel, grout hoses were connectedby divers to the pile grout inlet underwater at a depth of 46 meters. Grouting works were carried out 24 hours to expedite completion and all grouting works were
completed within 16 hours. The topside was installed 36 hours after completion of the grouting.


The use of UHPC materials have been proven to provide fast and efficient solutions to structural installations and repairs in the offshore environment.

UHPC Workshop in Germany

Our manufactory is not very big. Here we
playfully develop new design ideas, new
material combinations and, if necessary,
develop new UHPC Ultra High Performance
concrete mixing recipes.

Our manufactury is to transform the
advantages and peculiarities of our own
UHPC material creations into design
designs. We also develop special material creations for designers, similar to those in the textile industry.
Our UHPC material qualities are used from the smallest jewelery to complete house interiors.

We have the possibility for interested parties outside of Europe to connect directly to our UHPC development laboratory via TEAM, SKYPE etc.. After making an appointment, we will then be available for you.

We only produce UHPC design material of the highest quality for designers.

Some of our qualities can be processed
with standard mixing machines.

We are working on a new cast process
in order to be able to achieve even finer
wall thicknesses and structures, or to be
able to use previously used processing
techniques in the field of clay processing
and plastering for our material. We are
currently working on a material quality
that can be processed like clay on the
turntable.

We plan to move our manufacture
workshop this year in an old farm
with big barns.
Here, we want to invite students and
designer from all over the world to
work together with us to develop new
design ideas and put them to practical
use, which requires more space.


You want to try out our UHPC design
material?

We ship 5 kg plastic containers free of
charge within Europe.
Outside of Europe, unfortunately, we
have to take a very small freight surcharge.

WPE DK International

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

UHPC - Standard concrete comparison

Standard concrete
A mixture of cement binder + sand + gravel + water

UHPC concrete
A mixture of UHPC binder + sand + water

One of the most important quality parameters
when comparing standard concrete and UHPC

Standard Cement Binder                         UHPC Binder         

is water/cement ratio and compressive strength.

The water/cement ratio is the ratio of the weight of water to the weight of cement used in a concrete mix.
A lower ratio leads to higher strength and durability, water/cement ratios of 0.4 to 0.5
are more typically used for standard concrete qualities. For higher-strength concrete, ratios of 0.20 - 0.18 are used.

Despite the extremely low w/c value, UHPC materials of high production quality 

can be processed in much the same way as 

concrete.

Among other things, the low w/c value
means that the pore volume is extremely low
or even absent, which leads to very high
compressive strength (up to 240 MPa) and
very high corrosion resistance. UHPC is also
self compacting.

Another effect of the low pore volume in UHPC
is the extremely high content of wetted surface,
e.g. on steel reinforcements against concrete.
This leads to very strong connection of steel
and UHPC. If you wanted to pull a standard
reinforcing steel out of a UHPC block you
needed enormous tensile forces compared to
a standard concrete reinforcement.

Due to the extremely low pore volume and the

high pressure and tensile strength combined
with the exclusive use of sand as aggregate, the coverage of the reinforcement can be reduced. Likewise, the distance between the reinforcing bars could be reduced.

In this context, UHPC can be used to make
concrete structures that are closer to steel structures than the ones in their dimensions
and bearing capacities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WPE DK International

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

 

UHPC - Wear protection system for coal fired power plants

Large quantities of materials like hard coal,
lignite and ash are handled in a coal fired
power plant. To ensure a constant production,
most of the conveying (hydraulic or pneumatic),
storing and production equipment must lined
with wear protection products.

Based on the long experience in wear
protection system engineering for the most
of the OEMs of grinding and mill systems
like impact mills, vertical roller mills,
hammer mills etc., together with our
partner WPE DK we can offer standard and
custom made UHPC wear protection lining
systems.

We supply custom made solutions and
engineered systems like pipe components
with electrical wear control or pipe
components with a combination lining of
wear and heat reduction linings.

For circulation fluidised bed steam power
plant we engineer and install dedusting and
ash transport systems with a high quality
wear protection linings or combination
linings of wear and insulating material.

We deliver and install special custom
made wear linings for different burner systems.

We engineer and produce 
lining systems for mill suppliers like: 

Loesche            LM Verical Mill
Gebr. Pfeiffer   MPS Vertical Mill
ALSTOM         SM Mill, Raymond Roller Mill
HITACHI         Vertical Roller Mill
FLSmidth         ATOX Vertical Roller Mill

UHPC Installation areas

Cyclones                                                                        Cellular wheel sluice
NID-Systems for flue gas cleaning                                Chutes  
GSA-Systems for flue gas cleaning                               Pumps
Pneumatic transports systems                                       Ventilator housing and blades
Hydraulic transport systems                                          Coal mill
Trough chain conveyors                                                Burner systems
Submerges chain conveyors                                         Ash silo
Apron conveyors                                                           Coal bunker

 

WPE DK International

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

HPC and UHPC Facade elements

In modern architecture, facades and wall elements made from a wide variety of materials today.

The classic is still Italian marble like carrara, lasa bianco classico, lasa bianco vena oro.

The beauty of these natural stones is undisputed but the processing of these natural stones is very expensive and also has its limits in durability and plate sizes. The larger the façade or wall panels are desired by the architect, the thicker the panels become, the higher

the weight of the single panel becomes, the more complex
the handling becomes during assembly on site.

The future of the facade architecture is designed with UHPC 
(Ultra High Performance Concrete). UHPC fiber reinforced conctrete is a material with outstanding properties compared
to today's standard concrete.

We produce the highest quality UHPC binders worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience in research, development and production, we can meet a variety of customer needs.

Our UHPC binders can be combined with almost all mineral
and metallic materials.

With our service team we support precast plants worldwide
in the optimal handling of UHPC.

Facade and wall panels can be produced as sandwich
panels in a wide variety of material combinations.
Examples would be
UHPC / insulating material
UHPC / wood
UHPC / glass
UHPC / gypsum
UHPC / metals
UHPC /minerals

We can not only reproduce a variety of natural stone 
structure and color with pigments and special mixing 
technology, it is also possible to produce a variety of 
surfaces from polished to various roughnesses to 
coarse structures.

Depending on the combination material, UHPC
layer thicknesses of less than 15 mm are possible.
We have already used UHPC layer thickness of
less than 5 mm on wood.

Complete UHPC seamless frames can be made
for any kind and geometry of façade openings.
This kind of seamless facade element
construction in any geometry, design and size
is not possible with natural stones.

Due to the significantly higher compressive strength 
(100 - 160 MPa / 14500 - 23000 psi), much thinner 
and more elegant load-bearing structures, like frames 
for glass facdes are possible. Likewise, considerably 
higher spans of prefabricated parts are possible.
UHPC is fire-resistant up to 450°C / 840°F. In the high 
temperature resistant version UHPC HT a permanent 
temperature resistance up to 1200°C / 2190°F can be 
achieved.

Facade construction can be produced with UHPC in a 
fineness which until now was not possible with 
standard concrete.

The finished elements produced with UHPC casting 
compound do not require any or very little surface 
finishing. The dimensional accuracy is so exact after 
hardening that it is only necessary in extreme cases 
of extremely high production accuracies in the 
hundredth of a millimeter range.

Due to the extremely fine components, fine or smooth 
surface structures can be produced. Only the quality 
of the mold limits fineness or smoothness. 
UHPC can be casted almost poreless and capillary-free. 
Therefore all products made from UHPC are extremely 
resistant to any environmental 
influences. For this reason, UHPC is 100% seawater 
resistant.

 

 

WPE DK International

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