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 - What do we understand by this and what does your customer mean?

Are you sure you do not compare oranges with bananas ????

Today's state

Today, there are a variety of so called UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete products available on the international market.

Every concrete quality is described very precisely in the technical literature. There are well defined general material tests. Every architect and structural engineer can work with these defined values.

For more than 30 years we have been developing and producing UHPC for a variety of applications whether in architecture, offshore, security, road construction, bridge construction, tunnel construction etc.
In this long period of time, no one has succeeded in establishing a clear, worldwide definition of UHPC. It will probably never be possible.

An explanation attempt

Ultra High Strength Concrete was developed in 1981 with a compressive strength of more than 120 MPa /17500 psi. Since this newly developed binder has found a hitherto unprecedented range of possible applications, the term Ultra High Performance Concrete was developed. This generally used product designation is exclusively focused on the word performance and is therefore not a technical specification.

The word analysis

UHPC = Ultra High Performance Concrete

Ultra = Extreme, Special, Exceptional

High = Very intense, Powerful, Strong

Performance = Performance, Exercise, the act of performing, presentation, to carry out an action

Concrete = Formed of concrete, a compact mass of sand, gravel, cement and water

Elvis, Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan, Neil Amstrong, a 747 Jumbo Jet, a Rolls Royce had an Ultra High Performance, but did they perform in the same way? No, you cannot compare them.

The original idea of an Ultra High Strength Concrete with a minimum compressive strength of 120 MPa / 17500 psi plays no decisive role in this performance.

The most important characteristics of the Ultra High Performance Concrete are made by a

special cementitious added with mineral, metallic, organic, non-metals, inorganic non-metallic additives or aggregates. The water/cement ratio should be below 0,20.

The next generation of UHPC materials has already been developed and is being processed - UHPC desert sand concrete. It will no longer be necessary for some countries to destroy their rivers and beaches or to transport sand around half the planet.

We are working on a product specification that allows every customer to ensure that they get the highest quality UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete.

 

 

 

WPE DK International

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