UHPC Werkstoff für neuartiges, nachhaltiges Fassadendesign

Seit mehr als 25 Jahren beschäftigen wir uns mit der Entwicklung, Produktion und Anwendung von UHPC - Ultra High Performance Concrete Werkstoffen. Wir bieten mit unseren neuen UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete Fassadenwerkstoffe der nächsten Generation, neue innovative Materiallösungen für den Fassadenbau an.

UHPC Fassadenwerkstoffe erlauben durch die neuartige und sich immer kontinuierlich weiterentwickelnde Werkstofftechnik neu innovative Antworten auf die zukünftige Fassadenarchitektur zu geben.
In den Standardanwendungen kann UHPC Naturstein und Metall im Fassadendesign ersetzen. UHPC Fassaden sind wesentlich resistenter gegen alle Arten von Umwelteinflüsse als Natursteine und Metalle. Dieser Werkstoff bietet neben vielen technischen Vorteilen auch eine wesentlich höhere Lebensdauer und nahezu keinen Instandhaltungsaufwand. Unsere UHPC Werkstoffe sind vollständig recyclebar und können als Aggregat für neue UHPC Konstruktionen eingesetzt werden.

UHPC Fassadenpaneelen können ab einer Paneelenstärke von 15 mm gefertigt werden.

Geringe Paneelenstärke = geringes Stückgewicht = höhere Stückmenge bei Transport = geringere
Krankapaziäten = einfachere und schnellere Montage = Kostenreduzierung

UHPC Betonwerkstoffe können problemlos in allen Formen, Geometrien und Größen gegossen werden. Dabei sind die Möglichkeiten der Oberflächen-gestaltung nur durch die Gießformqualität begrenzt. UHPC Werkstoffe sind extremfließfähig und selbstkompaktierend. Ca. 70% seiner maximalen Nennfestigkeit erreichen unsere UHPC Werkstoffe nach weniger als 48 Stunden.

Es gibt völlig neue Möglichkeiten der Tragwerks-, Rahmen- und Attikagestaltung durch UHPC. Auch die Entwicklung von Infraleichten UHPC Werkstoffen wird in Kürze abgeschlossen sein. Bei dieser neuen Materialentwicklung wird Festigkeit, Tragfähigkeit mit thermischen Isolierfähigkeit kombiniert.
Auch in der Media-Architektur bietet UHPC neue interessante Lösungen für den Architekten, Designer und Lichtgestalter an. In Verbindung mit Glasfasern zum Beispiel, können vollkommen
Instandhaltungsfreie Licht-/Fassadenelemente von geringer Elementstärke produziert werden.
Schon jetzt können mit faser- und textilbewehrten UHPC Rahmenkonstruktionen für Solarpaneelen,
Glas oder anderen Werkstoffen produziert werden. Ebenso können feine, filigrane und sehr dünne
Fassadenstrukturen mit faser- und textilbewehrten UHPC produziert werden.
UHPC führt auf Grund seiner Materialeigenschaften im Sichtbeton absolut neue Oberflächengestaltungs-möglichkeiten ein.
Ein weiterer Vorteil von UHPC ist das Brandverhalten. UHPC HT (Hochtemperatur) Werkstoffe können Dauertemperaturen von über 1000°C widerstehen.

WPE DK International

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

 

30 years of fundamental difference between UHPC and concrete

This photo is more than 30 years old. It is from the first flyer I used to sell UHPC. The photo was meant to explain to our customers what the general difference between concrete and UHPC is, because almost all of our customers at that time had no idea what the difference between concrete and UHPC is. At the time, I found this photo comparison brilliantly simple and clear.

Today, after 30 years, our team still has the feeling that many write and talk about UHPC but really do not recognise the basic difference. On the contrary, people today try to dilute and obfuscate the difference between concrete and UHPC. For these professionals, everything and nothing is concrete and UHPC. There are very few professionals who can explain the difference in simple and logical language. However, the architect, the structural engineer or the construction company must know the difference in order to be able to use both materials optimally.
For this reason we have decided to bring out this very old photo and to try again to explain the difference between concrete and UHPC and hope that some interested people out there will follow us, to whom we would like to thank already now.

The idea behind this photo was to produce two test cylinders and subject them to a pressure test. The main point was not to find out which material has the higher compressive strength, that was clear from the beginning.
No, we wanted to show and compare the fracture surface. This fracture surface shows the difference so simply and clearly.
At the beginning we mixed a standard cement binder and a UHPC binder and added the same grading curve and material quality to aggregates, filled them into test cylinders and waited 28 days. After 28 days, the concrete and UHPC cylinders were demoulded and pressed in a press until they broke. The result of this fracture can be seen in this photo.

The left cylinder is the standard concrete cylinder and the right cylinder is the UHPC cylinder.
Looking at the left cylinder, the fracture surface is clearly in the binder, the gravel aggregate is not broken. The weak point in this case is the cement binder.
If we look at the right cylinder, the fracture has gone through the gravel aggregate and the UHPC binder simultaneously and evenly. There is no weak point here. The UHPC binder is just as hard and resistant as the aggregate and the adhesion between aggregate and binder is extremely high.

This photo comparison and the resulting result shows that there are two fundamentally different binder systems, the concrete binder and the UHPC binder, whereas the UHPC binder is superior to the concrete binder by several times. This is how it was then, how it is now and how it will be in the future.

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Floating platforms

The future will take place more and more on the water of the oceans, whether on the coast or in the open sea. UHPC Ultra high Performance Concrete will play a crucial role in this. The two main construction materials in the offshore sector so far are steel and concrete. However, both have significant disadvantages compared to UHPC.
On the one hand, there is resistance to salt water. Steel is very difficult to protect against corrosion and even then the construction still has to be serviced regularly and very time-consuming and expensive. Floating structures should have a lifespan of at least 100+ years in the future.
With normal concrete structures the problems are similar, if not more serious. Once extremely corrosive seawater has penetrated the steel reinforcement unnoticed, the repair effort is enormous. In addition, for this very reason, the construction must be extremely thick-walled. An anti-corrosion coating makes the entire construction additionally expensive and here too the entire construction must be checked regularly in short periods of time.
Special UHPC concretes have extremely high strength values ​​compared to normal concretes, they are waterproof after a wall thickness of a few millimeters and are absolutely salt water resistant. Some of our UHPC binders are also extremely temperature-resistant (up to max. 1200°C) and they are very good wear-resistant (resistant to wear and tear caused by moving ice floes). Due to the high strength values, structural elements can be optimized or minimized in terms of size and weight.
UHPC concrete will be the much cheaper material for the required service life.

As developers and producers of high-quality UHPC binder materials, we want to focus on three future projects:

1st project
Floating work platforms for energy generation and storage.
All the major offshore wind farm operators worldwide are currently planning not only to generate energy with wind turbines, but also to use this energy to produce hydrogen on site in the wind farm. Solar systems on the platforms should contribute to additional energy generation. The platforms can be manufactured in several standard segments and connected to form a network at sea. These platforms can be made from very lightweight UHPC. This UHPC material can be self-floating.

2nd project
Floating living and working platforms, artificial islands for the coastal area and for the open sea. Platforms
for residential buildings, hotels, schools, hospitals, office buildings and production facilities.
Please see the corresponding article below.

WPE DK International

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

HPC and UHPC information documents and sample supplies

Again and again we are asked by architects if we can provide samples and catalogues of HPC and UHPC.

It seems that there is still a misconception that HPC and UHPC can be compared to DIN concrete. A lot of what is called new development in the standard concrete sector today, we have already developed 20 years ago with UHPC, only at that time the architects and the building industry were not interested.
The so-called R-concrete or recycled concrete had already existed with a UHPC binder for 20 years. With a special UHPC binder, it is possible to process a gigantic number of different solids and still achieve a strength that in many cases far exceeds that of standard concrete.
We have had an extremely refractory UHPC concrete that can withstand continuous temperatures up to 1200°C for 20 years. We combine UHPC binders with asphalt to achieve much more resistant pavements.
We can easily combine HPC and UHPC binders with natural fibres and materials in a way that is impossible with standard concrete. We can use UHPC binders to process fine materials such as dust or natural desert sand into concrete that meets the highest standard concrete strengths. Our UHPC strength values allow for much slimmer construction than is possible with standard concrete.

Due to the non-existent porosity in our HPC and UHPC binders, these concretes are extremely corrosion resistant, making them an ideal material for floating structures. This type of UHPC concrete has been used in the offshore industry for 20 years. Underwater foundations and structures can easily be built with UHPC. Tests have shown that UHPC structures can withstand water pressure from sea depths up to 3500 m without damage. We had these tests carried out more than 10 years ago.
We can make concrete structures with special UHPC binder that can be bent. There has been a UHPC lightweight concrete for more than 10 years that can be used as mortar, castable and spray. Nearly 20 years ago, a UHPC binder was developed for the navy that floats. For more than 20 years we have been producing UHPC binders that are close to diamond in wear resistance.
As our HPC and UHPC concrete are waterproof, fire resistant and high strength, they can be used for disaster control constructions. HPC and UHPC can withstand all environmental conditions.

Some of our HPC and UHPC binders are used in interior applications.
The nano-fineness of the HPC and UHPC binders allows extreme textures and finenesses to be achieved that surpass even the fineness in metalworking. Designers involved in concrete design do not even use 10% of the possibilities of UHPC Binder.
HPC and UHPC binders are the ideal materials to support traditional African and Asian construction as they combine well with local raw materials.
The security industry and the military of many countries have been aware of the enormous possibilities for a few years now. But even here, very specific tests show that the actual security and military possibilities are far from being exploited because of the traditional standard concrete way of thinking. The new UHPC safety room and bunker technology is in great demand, especially in Europe.

Even in the mechanical engineering industry, our UHPC materials have been used for 25 years. Producing industries such as cement works, mines, steel works, foundries, refineries, chemical works, power plants, bioenergy producers, etc. are among our long-standing customers.
We draw our knowledge and experience from, as you can see, a wide variety of international markets.
However, after more than 30 years, there are still markets or industrial sectors that are new and exciting for us. We have not yet reached the end of our development.

If a customer were to request a catalogue of our technology and its application, it would be several hundred pages thick. It would be more like a book than a catalogue. Such a book would be very expensive because of the possibly small print run.
This is why we have a rough draft of such a book in our drawer but have not yet realised it. The rough draft already had more than 300 pages. If enough people are interested, we will realise the book project. Write to us and we will inform you about the state of realisation.

As far as the samples of HPC and UHPC applications are concerned, it looks similar to the flyer. As you

have hopefully noticed, we have so many possible applications, designs that we are not able to offer you a sample of all HPC and UHPC possibilities. If you provide us with the most accurate specification of the HPC or UHPC you require, we will have this material manufactured in our laboratory in the form you specify. If you have problems with the specification, we will gladly provide you with a questionnaire that can certainly help you to specify your desired material exactly. Send us a short message with your contact details and we will send you the questionnaire as soon as possible.

WPE DK International

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

Special technical sales training sessions for HPC and UHPC markets and related products

In the last quarter of this year, we are almost fully booked with our technical sales training sessions (by no means to be confused with a presentation). 

 

These very specific training sessions focus entirely on the local market of our participants and the related HPC and UHPC materials. For this reason, only one country is admitted per training session. There are still training sessions booked this year by companies from Poland, Switzerland, Italy and South Korea. We do not charge our clients for the training. Therefore, only travel costs are incurred for our customers.

The joint preparation for the training usually takes about  4 weeks.
 

In the coming year, our new mobile training unit for practical processing training will start its service and can be booked by our customers worldwide. Here, all types of mixing and processing with all HPC and UHPC can be carried out practically.

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Spray Projects in a Northern European Ore Mine

An ore mine operator in Northern Europe has commissioned one of our customers to install a UHPC wear lining on several cyclones. 

The installation was to take place on site at the ore mine. A UHPC wear protection layer of 25 mm was to be installed. The time frame for the installation was very tight due to the mine. For this reason, a UHPC spray installation was chosen. UHPC spray wear protection is sprayed on using a wet process. This has the very great advantage of a controlled and uniform material quality. Since UHPC spray only produces a maximum rebound of less than 2%, there was also no material loss during the spray installation.

Our customer first sprayed half the circumference of the cyclone parts on site and then the other circumference of the cyclone parts. Due to the ambient temperatures, the lined parts could be transported and installed without any problems after 48 hours. directly after installation, this part of the plant could go into operation.

 

 

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Liquid-tight constructions

Liquid-tight constructions are becoming increasingly important for the economy and insurance companies worldwide. 

In the past, industries such as refineries, seawater desalination plants, sewage treatment plants,
hydroelectric power plants, offshore industries, etc. were particularly interested. There is a huge range of sealing systems for concrete structures. Most systems are expensive, complex to install and do not have the same life expectancy as you would expect from the structure. So the sealants have to be applied several times, which in turn leads to problems and enormous
costs. For a few years now, there has been an increasing demand for coastal protection and especially flood protection structures that have to withstand the constant attack of moving seawater caused by high and low tides, but also by enormous wave movements.

Another growing problem is the rapid change in the climate and the ever-increasing amounts of rainfall that lead to inland flooding and, among other things, also flood residential buildings worldwide, which then have to be repaired in a time-consuming and costly manner. Concrete sealants are of limited or no help here.

One solution is concrete structures made of HPC or UHPC concrete. Here, waterproofing can already be achieved with a wall thickness of 10 - 15 mm. This concrete layer can be subsequently applied to any substrate in industry as well as in residential buildings. This is also possible in countries with predominantly natural material constructions.  
If the ground floor is completely built of HPC or UHPC or provided with a protective layer, no flood water, which is usually also dirty water, can penetrate into the building structure. 

After the floodwater has disappeared, the walls and floor can be cleaned with locally available cleaning machines such as high-pressure water jets, after which this area is immediately habitable again.

In industry, a UHPC layer can completely prevent or hold back breakthroughs for a very long time in the event of liquid attack from the outside, i.e. from floodwater masses, or from the inside in the event of ruptures or leaks in liquid tanks.

Sewage treatment plants can be constructed directly from HPC or UHPC, or they can be retrofitted after prior inspection of the building structure. The same applies to biotank systems for the production of biogas.

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Special Binder System for a Flood Gate

For our customer FDN we have developed a special high performance UHPC binder. With this binder, FDN has developed the first flood gates made entirely of UHPC concrete. These flood gates will replace many old flood gates in the future. Floodgates made of UHPC are absolutely corrosion resistant and have an enormous strength. To prove this strength, the local authorities required a load test in addition to many material tests. In the attached video you can see the UHPC slab which has a similar wall thickness as the future gate constructions. 

 

 

Both load tests with a cast iron ball from different heights were passed without any damage.
We assume a life expectancy of at least 100 years for the UHPC concrete without the need for regular maintenance work.

 

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete in local Asian architecture

UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete is barely considered in modern Asian architecture, although this material is over 25 years old. 

HPC and UHPC concrete is not just a concrete, it is something special. In the beginning, 25 years ago, we broke one strength record after another. We have done extreme constructions and linings and cold and heat.
For the last 15 years, we have been focusing on sustainability in the Asian market with our HPC and UHPC materials, using local materials. We can perfectly combine our materials with local construction materials such as bamboo. The result is a unique, sustainable, cost effective material or construction. With our HPC and UHPC binder systems, we can incorporate almost any local material. We can work with local architects and contractors to create buildings and structures that can withstand floods, fires, storms, earthquakes and insect attacks. We also want to learn with local

builders how we can work together to create permanent floating platforms for living on the water or on the coast.

 

Yet this extraordinary material offers a large number of answers to the requirements of modern Asian architecture.

Corrosion
HPC/UHPC materials are very good corrosion resistant. Old concrete, wood or steel structures can be easily and inexpensively repaired and made usable for many decades.

Waterproof
HPC/UHPC materials are waterproof from a layer thickness of 10 mm. Houses can be made resistant to

flooding so that they can be quickly cleaned and used again after a flood.

Seawater
UHPC materials are absolutely seawater resistant. HPC/UHPC can be processed underwater. This means that jetties can be repaired easily and quickly. they can then be used again for the next 50 years.

Rotting
UHPC do not rot. Wooden structures that are already starting to rot or are damaged can be quickly and permanently repaired with HPC/UHPC.

Material Strength

HPC/UHPC materials reach strengths from 20 MPa to 240 MPa

Steel structures
HPC/UHPC materials can permanently replace steel structures and require no maintenance

Earthquake
HPC/UHPC materials offer solutions to increase the seismic safety of existing buildings

Temperatures
HPC/UHPC materials are extremely temperature resistant from -90° to +1200°C. An ideal material for facades

Design
With HPC/UHPC materials it is possible to achieve extremely fine surface structures

Processing
HPC/UHPC can usually be processed like standard concrete. We produce HPC and UHPC castable,

mortar and shotcrete versions.
HPC and UHPC materials help to drastically reduce the concrete requirement / weight.
HPC and UHPC sheathing of steel or wooden structures standing on or in the water, will permanently protect the construction against rotting.
Of course, UHPC can also be used to repair buildings and floors easily, quickly and effectively.

There are many other arguments for the use of UHPC in Asian architecture.
We are happy to be of service to every designer, architectand contractor with our decades of experience.

At the moment we are producing our HPC and UHPC materials in Europe. However, we plan to build one or two production locations in Asia in the near future.

 

WPE DK International

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

 

What about the claim that a UHPC essence, local cement and local sand can be used to produce UHPC concrete?

Again and again we read in flyers from UHPC manufacturers that they have a UHPC essence with
which the customer can easily mix a local cement and local sand with this UHPC essence and water and then the customer gets a UHPC concrete. As a rule, this text is very general and does not go into technical details, which has its reasons.

Let's start with the statement:
...locally available cement and sand can be used....

In itself, this statement is not wrong, if we disregard what the customer expects from the quality.
Why?
Well, if we buy a C25 cement, it is impossible to produce a C100 UHPC concrete with a UHPC essence.
If we want to produce a high quality UHPC concrete we need high quality cement, this cannot be changed.
Many users believe that cement from manufacturer A is exactly the same as from manufacturer B if only it says C35.
This is also partly a misconception. Yes, it is true that with both you will get a strength of 35 MPa. But if you look at the anlaysis of the two cements, they could be very different. However, these differences determine the suitability for a UHPC and how it can be processed.
The same applies to aggregates such as sand. Of course I can add local sand but a high quality binder will only be a high quality UHPC if the right sand with the right grading curve is added, otherwise there is a possibility that you will only get a good concrete.

You can of course test the local sand and cement for suitability. Such a test takes one day if the analysis data of the cement and sand are available. We do this cost free for our customers.

 

WPE DK International

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

Who invented the UHPC Binder?

Again and again we are asked who invented the UHPC binder. Very often the French and the Germans are associated with it, but all these countries and their companies did not invent it. It was the Danes and everyone else copied the Danes. Why we want to know this so exactly. Well, our whole team worked for this Danish company. We have a timeline here of how it all came about.  We at hhbc-consulting and WPE DK have been working with UHPC for almost thirty years. Who can have such experience.

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Gravity Platforms

The construction of gravity platforms is not a new technology. There are already several concrete gravity
platforms in use nearshore. They are designed and manufactured like a barge. Oil and gas processing plants including storage facilities are installed on them.

Compared to standard concrete platforms, gravity platforms made of UHPC concrete are more durable,
much more resistant and almost maintenance-free.
UHPC offshore structures have been around for over 20 years. UHPC Offshore concretes are absolut salt water resistant. In the meantime, UHPC offshore structures are beginning to replace the outdated offshore steel structures. Offshore steel structures are also stabilised with UHPC concrete or the statics of the structure are improved. UHPC structures are also very resistant to ice floes.

Thanks to mobile production facilities, all our UHPC materials can be manufactured and processed on site. There is definitely the possibility to use local raw materials in the local binder production.

WPE DK International

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

Comparison HPC/UHPC - Standard concrete according DIN EN 206-1

This is a small excerpt from our HPC - UHPC manual book 2020. it shows a small technical section of our possibilities.
Our HPC - UHPC manual book 2020 is currently being revised and will then be available to our customers.

 

 

 WPE DK International

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

 

 

 

 

New UHPC concrete laboratory for us in Germany

Since the beginning of this year, we have put our UHPC concrete laboratory No.2 into operation. In our
UHPC concrete laboratory No.1, we continue to concentrate on the quality monitoring of our raw materials and UHPC end products. Due to the constantly high production volume and the resulting high level of monitoring, it was time for a second laboratory.

Our UHPC concrete laboratory No.2 is located near Flensburg in northern Germany.

 

 The tasks for the new laboratory No.2
- Development of new HPC and UHPC binder systems for WPE International
- Development of new HPC and UHPC binder systems on behalf of our international customers.
- Improvements of our standard HPC and UHPC binder systems
- Reduction of the cement content in our HPC and UHPC mixing recipes
- Testing of new aggregates and biomaterials
- Development of UHPC material for security and military applications
- New grouting material for the offshore industry
- Development of new very light HPC and UHPC binder systems
- Development of production processes for HPC and UHPC production in different countries
- Testing of new raw materials for our binder system.

The UHPC laboratory will grow in the future just like its tasks.
There are initial plans from WPE DK International for a small, very flexible production of all HPC and UHPC materials at the same location as Lab No.2. 

WPE DK International

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

 

Local UHPC offshore binder production through our new UHPC binder production modules.

 

We have been supplying UHPC grouting material to the offshore industry worldwide for many years. Our UHPC offshore programme consists of UHPC binder systems for wind turbines, offshore foundations, offshore repair material for oil and gas platforms, offshore corrosion protection and UHPC Oilwell cements.
With the new mobile HPC and UHPC binder production plants, we are able to produce HPC and UHPC binders locally with local raw materials worldwide after prior suitability testing. The mobile plants are modular in design and can be easily expanded.

 

 

WPE DK International

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

 

 

New Generation low price HPC and UHPC Binder systems

 

For more than 25 years, we have been involved in the development, production and processing of HPC
and UHPC binder systems. Since then, we have always worked with the same reliable raw material suppliers. This long-standing cooperation guarantees quality, reliability and available.

This has enabled us to keep our HPC and UHPC binder prices unchanged since 2020. Our new UHPC concrete laboratory, which has been active since the beginning of this year, has revised some HPC and UHPC binder systems and these new versions particularly concern the qualities C80 to C140 as fibre-reinforced mortar, castable and shotcrete. We will be able to offer these qualities at a reduced price from June this year.

Would you like to know more about our HPC or UHPC binder systems or just a price for your current project? 

 

 

 

 

WPE DK International

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

UHPC Floating platforms

The future will take place more and more on the water of the oceans, whether on the coast or in the open sea. UHPC Ultra high Performance Concrete will play a crucial role in this. The two main construction materials in the offshore sector so far are steel and concrete. However, both have significant disadvantages compared to UHPC.
On the one hand, there is resistance to salt water. Steel is very difficult to protect against corrosion and even then the construction still has to be serviced regularly and very time-consuming and expensive. Floating structures should have a lifespan of at least 100+ years in the future.
With normal concrete structures the problems are similar, if not more serious. Once extremely corrosive seawater has penetrated the steel reinforcement unnoticed, the repair effort is enormous. In addition, for this very reason, the construction must be extremely thick-walled. An anti-corrosion coating makes the entire construction additionally expensive and here too the entire construction must be checked regularly in short periods of time.
Special UHPC concretes have extremely high strength values ​​compared to normal concretes, they are waterproof after a wall thickness of a few millimeters and are absolutely salt water resistant. Some of our UHPC binders are also extremely temperature-resistant (up to max. 1200°C) and they are very good wear-resistant (resistant to wear and tear caused by moving ice floes). Due to the high strength values, structural elements can be optimized or minimized in terms of size and weight.
UHPC concrete will be the much cheaper material for the required service life.

As developers and producers of high-quality UHPC binder materials, we want to focus on three future projects:

1st project
Floating work platforms for energy generation and storage.
All the major offshore wind farm operators worldwide are currently planning not only to generate energy with wind turbines, but also to use this energy to produce hydrogen on site in the wind farm. Solar systems on the platforms should contribute to additional energy generation. The platforms can be manufactured in several standard segments and connected to form a network at sea. These platforms can be made from very lightweight UHPC. This UHPC material can be self-floating.

2nd project
Floating living and working platforms, artificial islands for the coastal area and for the open sea. Platforms
for residential buildings, hotels, schools, hospitals, office buildings and production facilities.
Please see the corresponding article below.

3rd project
Offshore missile launch sites
There are various ideas for implementing this. In Germany, launch sites on ships for small and medium-sized rocket systems for satellite transport are being considered and are already being planned. Elon Musk is planning rocket launch sites for converted former oil production platforms. In all of these plans, UHPC could contribute to intelligent, lasting solutions. Ships were built from UHPC more than 20 years ago and
offshore platforms with UHPC were significantly improved structurally and statically.
Please see the corresponding article below.

 

WPE DK International

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

Test your UHPC Know How - Learning Module

This is one of our learning modules for UHPC Concrete. A new version will be released this year. We use such modules for training purposes. New ones are added every year. This year there will be four new modules. 

You want to check your answers for correctness? Send us an email service@hhbc-consulting.de with the password "LMS 1/6" and we will send you an answer sheet.

Module no. 1/6

What are the main components in UHPC?

1. Cement, microsilica, superplastisizer
2. Cement, flyash, superplastisizer
3. Epoxy, microsilica, dispersant
4. Cement, sand, epoxy
5. Cement, sand, microsilica

Acid will deteriorate UHPC

1. True
2. False
3. Only if pH is below 5
4. Only if pH is above 5
5. Only if pH is below 3

Alkali will deteriorate UHPC

1. True
2. False
3. Only if pH is above 12
4. Only if pH is below 12
5. Only if pH is above 13

The following aggregates are used in UHPC Standard wear protection?

1. Quarz
2. Bauxite
3. Corundum
4. Silicium carbide
5. Titanium carbide

The wear resistanse of UHPC increases with these aggregates?

1. Quarz, bauxite, corundum, silicium carbide
2. Bauxite, quarz, corundum, silicium carbide
3. Silicium carbide, bauxite, quarz, corundum
4. Bauxite, corundum, quarz, silicium carbide
5. Silicium carbide, corundum, bauxite, quarz

What is the lowest temperature at which it is ok to install UHPC?

1. 20°C / 68°F
2. 10°C / 50°F
3.   5°C / 41°F
4.   0°C / 32°F
5. - 5°C / 23°F

What do you need to protect UHPC against when installing it?

1. Drying out
2. Freezing
3. Wind
4. Direct sun
5. Rain

What should you focus on when mixing UHPC in regards to water?

1. The product cannot seggregate
2. The product must remain dry
3. There must be free water on top of the product in the mixer
4. You cannot add too much water to UHPC
5. Any mixing problem can be solved by adding more water

You notice lumps in a bag of UHPC Binder, what do you do?

1. No problem, I just add more water when mixing
2. I contact hhbc-consulting or to have a new bag
3. I control the storage environment
4. I discard the bag
5. I check the date on the bag to see age of product

When mixing UHPC lumps are formed shortly after adding of water?

1. No problem, I just add more water
2. I wait a while to see if they mix out, if not I will add a little more water
3. I throw away the mix
4. I check if the mixer is proper prepared for mixing UHPC
5. I increase the speed of the mixer

When mixing UHPC I notice free water on the surface of the mix?

1. No problem, Just need to use the product fast
2. I allow the mixer to run for longer time, untill the free water is no longer there
3. I will try to scoop out the free water
4. I throw away the mix
5. I add more powder untill the free water disappeares

What is the purpose of Microsilica in UHPC?

1. It is packing between cement particles, increasing density and displacing water
2. It is like little ball bearings making the mortar more flowable
3. It reacts with Ca(OH)2 from the cement hydration and create a denser material
4. It has no significant effect, just a filler to make the product cheaper
5. There is no microsilica in UHPC

What is the purpose of superplasticizer in UHPC?

1. It makes the product more flexible
2. It charges all particles so that they repell each other. At the same time it makes stearic hinderence so that particles cannot bridge build on each other, and in this way it displaces water.
3. There is no superplasticizer in UHPC
4. It is a polymer, added to make the product easier to mix
5. It is lubricating the particles so that they can react better

UHPC Binder can be installed over head?

1. True
2. False
3. Sometimes if you are lucky
4. Only during the weekend
5. Only if you use a special throwel

HT products can be used in temperature areas of

1. Up to 1200°C / 2192°F
2. Not above 1000°C / 1832°F
3. Not above 600°C / 1112°F
4. Not above 400°C / 752°F
5. Not above 200°C / 392°F

UHPC (not HT) can be used in temperature areas of

1. Up to 1200°C / 2192°F
2. Not above 1000°C / 1832°F
3. Not above 600°C / 1112°F
4. Not above 400°C / 752°F
5. Not above 200°C / 392°F

It is important to know what chemicals UHPC will be subjected to

1. True
2. False
3. Only acid or alkalies
4. Especially if there are salts present
5. Only if temperature is above 100 deg C

When mixing you notice the wetting time is increased. What do you do?

1. No problem, I just add more water
2. I wait it out for a while to see if it wets through, and I adjust the water accordingly
3. I throw away the mix
4. I ignore it
5. Cross my fingers and hope everything will be ok

What happens to UHPC if too much water is added?

1. Nothing, you can add as much water as you like
2. The product will most likely seggregate, but properties will in general be reduced in direct correlation with the amount of water added.
3. Especially if we are working with a UHPC Cast product, installation will be a lot easier
4. Strength will increase as we will hydrate more cement
5. The stickyness of the product will increase a lot

How does UHPC differ from cement/concrete?

1. It is the same, no difference
2. UHPC is stronger in terms of compressive strength
3. UHPC is more dense
4. Concrete is more flexible
5. UHPC can be installed under water

How does UHPC differ from refractory?

1. It i the same, no difference
2. Refractory needs heat to finalize its reactions, UHPC does not
3. UHPC is more wear resistant
4. The insulation properties of UHPC is better than that of refractory
5. UHPC can withstand higher temperatures compared to refractories
    
    
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