UHPC HT and Refractory - The difference

UHPC HT Products

UHPC, Ultra High Performance Concrete, is a combination of a cement, micro particles and wear resistant (very hard) particles. Due to the 

micro particles it is possible to create a perfect physical packing ensuring improved chemical reactions. These chemical reactions secures the formation of minerals with superior properties at room temperature. Hence around 60% of the full strength will be obtained after 48 hours. Final strength of a UHPC is 100-250 MPa / 14500-36250 psi.

Water added to UHPC to secure a proper 

rheology is limited, and shortly after setting there will be no more free water in the system, as all water will be bond in the structure of the chemical reactions.

When heating UHPC HT the risk of cracking due to evaporation of water is limited. However too fast heating of a virgin installation could lead to this. Hence it is recommended to firstly heat up the installation at a rate of 50°C/hr. The heating does not contribute to the strength of the system however it will increase the rate of strength building.

Refractories

Unshaped refractories typically contains an alumina cement as the bonding material and other metallic minerals depending on the 

temperature and environment it is installed. Water is mixed in to create the right rheology for installation. As such this product at ambient 

temperature can be viewed as an ordinary mortar. As such the product is relative porous and strength at ambient temperature is not likely 

to exceed 45 MPa. This system will also reach around 60% of final strength after 48 hours of hydration.

This system will contain free water after installation, hence there is a risk of cracking when heated. Hence it is necessary to heat it at specific heating rate in order to avoid such cracks. In order for refractories to work they need to be heated so that the metallic minerals is calcinated 

and sintered into the wanted minerals with the needed properties.

Comparison

The strength and density of UHPC HT is a lot higher than that of refractories. Hence these products will be better at withstanding inner pressure from internal water evaporation, reducing the risk of cracks and ultimate process destruction of the product.

UHPC HT does not need heat to form the minerals needed in the mix in order to obtain the properties. 

Heat will however increase the rate of property formation.

 

Brazil UHPC Wear protection lining of a BF Top Gas Cleaning system

 BF Top Gas Cleaning

The Paul Wurth gas cleaning system for the Thyssen Steel Brazil furnace was one of several Paul Wurth gas cleaning systems we supplied with UHPC wear protection complete the wear protection. The installation was carried out by a local installation company.

We installed the anchors directly at the steel construction company. The UHPC wear protection lining was then lined on site at the steel mill in the installed condition. The total lining area was approximately 1200 sqm. The layer thickness was specified by the plant builder from 25 mm to 40 mm depending on the area in the cyclone. 

    

UHPC Mortar 2000 HT was specified by our customer as the wear protection material. UHPC Mortar 2000 HT is enormously wear resistant even at continuous temperatures up to 1200°C. The cyclone should have a normal average operating temperature of 400 - 500°C. However, it is possible that hot gases up to 1000°C may enter the cyclone uncontrolled from blast furnace.

 

The planned service life is at least 10 years. During these 10 years the blast furnace will not be stopped and therefore repair of the cyclone will be possible only under very difficult conditions.

WPE DK International

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

 

SouthAfrica UHPC Wear protection lining of a BF Top Gas Cleaning system

BF Top Gas Cleaning

The Paul Wurth gas cleaning system for the Newcastle Steel plant blast furnace was one of several Paul Wurth gas cleaning systems we supplied with UHPC wear protection complete the wear protection. The installation was carried out by a local installation company.

We installed the anchors directly at the steel construction company. The UHPC wear protection lining was then lined on site at the steel mill in the installed condition. The total lining area was approximately 400 sqm. The layer thickness was specified by the plant builder from 25 mm to 40 mm

depending on the area in the cyclone.

UHPC Mortar 2000 HT was specified by our customer as the wear protection material. UHPC Mortar 2000 HT is enormously wear resistant even at continuous temperatures up to 1200°C. The cyclone should have a normal average operating temperature of 400 - 500°C. 

However, it is possible that hot gases up to 1000°C may enter the cyclone uncontrolled from blast furnace.

 

The planned service life is at least 10 years. During these 10 years the blast furnace will not be stopped

and therefore repair of the cyclone will be possible only under very difficult conditions.

WPE DK International

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

High temperature resistant UHPC pavement

Constant very high temperatures and high
loads cause high damage to stone or concrete
floors.
Last year we re-lined a floor in the steel collis
warehouse with UHPC HT. The freshly rolled
steel collis have an average weight of 20 tons
and are still more than 280°C / 536°F warm
for a few days when they are stored. The
radiant heat has caused massive damage to
the floor area in most areas of the hall. In
addition, the hot collis are driven from the
rolling mill into the warehouse with special
forklifts and placed correctly.

The routes in the warehouse had to be
completely renovated for safety reasons.
Since the ground was so bumpy, there was
a risk that a forklift with the hot colli might
fall over.

For this reason, the old floor was completely
removed. The subbase floor was rebuilt and
carefully compacted. Subsequently, at least
50 mm /2 inch thick UHPC HT high temperature
resistant flooring, which also has a very high
compressive strength and wear resistance, was laid.
In the UHPC HT floor covering, two-layer
reinforcement was introduced in order to absorb
the shear stresses that are generated by the heavy
forklift movements.
We relined approx. 1000 sqm hall floor. 

WPE DK International

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

 

 

UHPC wear protection an example from the steel industry

BF Top Gas Cleaning

UHPC has been specified as a wear protection material in a new dedusting cyclone for a blast furnace by one of the world's largest plant manufacturers in the steel industry. 

We installed the anchors directly at the steel construction company. The UHPC wear protection lining was then lined on site at the steel mill in the installed condition. The total lining area was approximately 1000 sqm. The layer thickness was specified by the plant builder from 25 mm to 40 mm depending on the area in the cyclone. 

          

UHPC Mortar 2000 HT was specified by our customer as the wear protection material. UHPC Mortar 2000 HT is enormously wear resistant even at continuous temperatures up to 1200°C. The cyclone should have a normal average operating temperature of 400 - 500°C. However, it is possible that hot gases up to 1000°C may enter the cyclone uncontrolled from blast furnace.

 

The planned service life is at least 10 years. During these 10 years the blast furnace will not be stopped and therefore repair of the cyclone will be possible only under very difficult conditions. 

 

 WPE DK International

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

Use of UHPC HT construction material in extreme fire temperatures

20 years ago we started as the only one in the world to use high temperature resistant HT UHPC in areas
up to 1200°C / 2192°F. We use this material under the most extreme wear and temperature conditions in industry. High temperature resistant UHPC HT can be used as construction material, radiation insulation, floor material, wear protection and corrosion protection.

We produce this material in several qualities as mortar, castable and shotcreate.

Constructions made from our UHPC HT material can withstand very high temperatures for a very long
time. Steel and concrete structures are protected in steel plants, power plants, offshore platforms, civil construtions, refinery, chemical plants etc. with UHPC HT material.

A few years ago we started to develop UHPC HT materials for architectural applications. Today residental housing constructions can be built for example to withstand wild fires and fire storms for long period of time. There are already the first companies that want to manufacture doors and window security systems from UHPC HT. If windows and doors were to be secured against high temperatures, a fire from outside would have no way of penetrating the house.

These high-temperature UHPC HT are also available with mixed thermal insulation.

In public buildings, escape routes, stairwells and supporting structures can be secured against fire and destruction. UHPC HT can be processed in the same way as normal concrete.

UHPC HT is not only extreme fire-resistant and thus protects life, UHPC HT has a very high load-bearing capacity, no water can penetrate UHPC HT constructions at flooding
situation, UHPC HT can be perfectly processed as a tilt-up and precast construction and is absolutely resistant to all types of fungi and termite infestation. UHPC HT has also been used in the military and in security technology for many years.

 

WPE DK International

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

UHPC ThermCombi lining systems

UHPC ThermCombi lining system consists of

a highly effective insulating layer and UHPC

wear protection layer

For a cement plant in Europe, we should

create a technically optimal possibility that
a complicated hot gas line is provided with

wear protection against a very abrasive

material and at the same time the gas

temperature must not drop below 700°C /

1292°F. A similar project we had years ago

for a steel plant in Asia.

In order to meet these customer requirements,

we have chosen a UHPC ThermCombi lining

system.

We reduced the temperature for the steel

structure to 80°C / 176°F. That was no problem

with the insulation material we chose. A high

temperature resistant UHPC wear protection
layer was installed on the insulation layer.

The advantage over a traditional refractory
lining is:
 - The combination lining was about 60% lighter
      in weight than a refractory lining.
 - The total layer thickness of the combination
      lining was 400% less than that of a standard
      refractory solution.
 - This meant that the steel pipe diameter was
      much smaller than with a refractory lining
      and the supports had to carry much less weight.
 - UHPC HT wear protection can withstand

      temperatures of 1200°C / 2192°F, which was

      an additional security in this project.

 - UHPC HT wear protection is several times more
      wear-resistant than refractory concrete, which
      has resulted in a significantly longer service life

      and much less maintenance.

 

Today, the new UHPC ThermCombi systems are not only used in the steel, power plant and cement industries. The construction industry has also recognised the enormous advantages for building structures and façade constructions. It is not only the insulating properties that save energy, the significantly lower material consumption and the very light precast weight - it is especially the fire and heat resistance that makes UHPC ThermCombi building constructions very safe constructions.

 

 

UHPC Wear- and corrosion protection for all pipe dimensions

UHPC linings of all kinds of pipes inside and
out was one of our first major projects more
than 25 years ago. The pipes should be
permanently protected against wear and
corrosion with UHPC under the toughest
conditions. First of all, pipes for pneumatic
material delivery lines in the cement industry
were lined. After that, pneumatic and hydraulic
pipelines for the coal-fired power plant industry
and the steel industry were lined. Later came
the offshore industry and the wastewater
industry. We lined pipes of any diameter from
40mm / 1,57inch to 8000mm / 315inch. Here,
the geometry played no major role, so
whether Y-piece, pipe bend, reducer, etc.

The huge advantage of UHPC over all liners at
that time was the seamless lining, the flexibility
in layer thicknesses, the variations in material
quality and the very high wear and corrosion
resistance for a very long service life. Even
today, pipes are in use that were lined 25 years
ago with UHPC.
Today, new pipe systems are lined with UHPC
or existing pipe systems are repaired with UHPC
material. It makes only a very small difference
whether they are concrete or steel pipes.

We use UHPC mortar, UHPC castable and
UHPC shotcrete as lining material. UHPC
Rapid material grades are used for extremely
fast repairs.

In the offshore industry, UHPC is used both
as the inner and outer lining of pipelines.
UHPC can also be used underwater. A 15mm
or 0,6inch thick UHPC coating is waterproof
and absolutely corrosion resistant. A UHPC-
lined offshore structure no longer requires
regular corrosion protection coatings. UHPC
is used today as a material for offshore
constructions and offshore foundations
worldwide.

For some years, we use high temperature resistant
UHPC material in the steel industry. Hot gas
temperatures up to more than 1000°C / 1832°F
are no problem here. We also coat hot gas pipe
system with a combination of UHPC and high
performance insulation. This makes it possible
to dispense with stainless steel as a construction
material, which in turn reduces costs enormously.


Wastewater pipelines, storm water drains, storm
water storage systems road drainage systems,
sewage systems and culverts whether made of
steel or concrete, can be easily repaired with
UHPC. It is not necessary to clean the
construction of rust before you start with the
lining. With UHPC Shotcrete, larger pipelines
can be quickly and permanently repaired. Due
to the extremely low rebound of less than 3%,
special cleaning work in the pipeline is not
necessary.

Smaller repairs can be done quickly with UHPC
mortar or UHPC Cast. As UHPC materials
exceed the compressive strength of all standard
concretes by more than once, steel and concrete
pipelines are more resilient after a complete repair.

Advantage of UHPC 
Absolutely waterproof
Absolutely moisture resistant
Extremely corrosion resistant
Very high life expectancy
Very good resistance to a variety of chemicals
Very high strength


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



 

UHPC Rehabilitation of concrete structures

Due to the old age and the increased and
rapidly increasing loads, for example due
to traffic and environmental influences,
an enormous number of concrete structures
are in need of renovation or have to be
completely replaced by new, more robust
structures. The renovation effort in the
infrastructure area is gigantic worldwide.
The focus here is on bridges.

UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete
materials have many decisive advantages
over standard concretes when renovating
concrete structures. By using UHPC concretes,
material costs, assembly costs and assembly
times can be reduced and the service life of
the repaired concrete structures can be
extremely increased. Standard construction
machines can be used when installing UHPC
concrete.

The goals of repair or repair assembly are in
general

The restoration of stability and a stable concrete 
cross-section
Due to the enormously high strength values ​​of
UHPC compared to standard concrete and its
very fast strength development, the stability of
the construction can be quickly restored.
UHPC mortar, castable and shotcrete materials
can be used.

Increasing the load capacity
UHPC materials offer the structural engineer and
bridge designer the option of significantly
strengthening areas of the bridge structure that are
subject to high loads.

Maintenance or restoration of corrosion protection 
and frost resistance
UHPC is an almost non-porous material that is
absolutely frost and de-icing salt resistant, even
with a very thin layer of material. UHPC is also
absolutely seawater resistant and can also be
processed underwater. Thanks to these properties,
the repair effort for exposed reinforcements is
significantly lower than for standard concrete.
Only half of the material coverage is required
compared to standard concrete

Restoring or increasing the frictional resistance of 
the concrete surface
Through the addition of ceramic or mineral additives
and their very high adhesion to the UHPC material,
any friction coefficient can be guaranteed over a very
long period.

Restoring or increasing the fire resistance of components
UHPC HT (high temperature resistant) materials are
endurance-resistant up to over 1000°C /1832°F. All UHPC
materials are extremely resistant to shock temperature loads.

Increase thermal insulation
UHPC and UHPC HT in combination with extremely
thin high-performance insulating materials can lead to
high-strength and highly insulating structures.

Permanently closing cracks with a static and sealing function
UHPC Castable are based on nanotechnology, they are
extremely thin and penetrate into the smallest pores or
cracks and seal them permanently.

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

Wear Protection with UHPC wear protection concrete

UHPC is a high wear resistant ultra dense ceramic concrete (Ultra High Performance Concrete). It is a material mix of cement binder, microsilica, superplastiziser and ceramic aggregates (Quarz, Bauxite, Corundum, Silicon carbide).

The combination of high compressive strength, high dense particle packing and extrem hard aggregate, create a flexible and simple to install wear resistant material.

UHPC material can install in any thickness it is needed. It is a jointless lining and over-head-installation is not a problem.

It is produced in a mortar and in a castable material version.
No special underground treatment is required. Steel or concrete surface should be free of loose particles and free of oils and fats. For the installation of such wear protection system it is necessary to install a anchor system. As a standard we recommend follow anchor/reinforcement system:

a) Rhombic wire mesh

b) Honey- or Hexagon mesh

Two UHPC binder versions are produced, one for process 

temperature of max. 450°C/840°F (normal material quality) and 

one for high process temperature of max. 1.200°C/2190°F (high temperature quality)

Advantages

• High wear resistant
• Good impact resistant
• Extreme high compressive strength
• Good corrosion resistant
• Flexible in layer thickness
• Overhead installation is possible
• Thermo shock resistant
• Jointless lining
• Very short curing time

UHPC as a wear protection system has been used worldwide for more than 25 years in cement plants, steel plants, coal fired power plant and mines.

WPE DK International

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