UHPC Desert sand binder - Local Concrete for Africa

Almost four years ago we developed a UHPC Desert cement binder to process desert sand into a concrete with very high strength values. Only cement binders, water and desert sand are necessary for this. For mixing a standard concrete mixer is needed. The focus of binder development two years ago was on the professional construction industry.

In discussions with architects and organizations operating in Africa we were asked, if we could develop a simple, not so high-quality version of this binder that can support the traditional simple
constructions of the rural population. After some
discussion, a list of requirements for this new
binder was created with which we now work in
our lab. UHPC binders were originally developed
with the aim of achieving an extremely high level
of strength. Then we discovered with our UHPC
binder the incredible combination possibilities
with a variety of natural materials.


Our UHPC binders can perfectly support or
replace wood, straw, loam and clay constructions in terms of their strength and resistance to high
UHPC can also be easily combined with recycled material. It can be made of furniture and sanitary equipment. UHPC concrete is not flammable, which contributes to the safety of the accommodation.

The aim of our current binder development is to
drastically reduce binder costs, to keep the
mixing procedure as simple as possible, to
drastically reduce the proportion of binder in the
overall mix, to reduce possible material transports,
to enable new material combinations with local
raw materials and to preserve as many
properties of UHPC as possible, temperatures and high solar radiation. UHPC binders are completely waterproof, even in very thin layers, do not rot and provide safe protection against termites.

There is also the possibility to use local cement for the production of UHPC Desert Sand Binder in addition to the local desert sand. For this we would have to test local cements for their suitability for our UHPC binder.

A difference in the definition of UHPC is always a difference in quality

The American Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines UHPC as follows:

UHPC is a fiber reinforced, portland cement based product. Through the appropriate combination of advantagements in superplasticizers, dry constituent gradiation, fibre reinforcments and supplemental cementitious materials.

UHPC is a cementitious composite material composed of an optimized gradation of granular constituents, a water-to-cementitious materials 
ratio less than 0,20 and a high percentage of discontinuous internal fiber reinforcement.

The mechanical properties of UHPC include  compressive strength greater than 150 MPa and a flexural strength geater than 15 MPa.

We define our UHPC grades as Ultra High Performance Concrete but without steel fiber reinforcement.
For all our UHPC grades, whether cast, mortar or spray, we achieve the technical values without the addition of any fibers.

UHPC is a cementitious composite material composed of an optimized gradation of granular constituents, a water-to-cementitious materials ratio less than 0,20 and no procentage of internal fiber reinforcement.

 

The mechanical properties (without fiber reinforcement) of UHPC include minimum compressive strength of 150 MPa (up to 260 MPa and more) and a minimum tensile strength 15 MPa (up to 30 MPa and more). We achieve 70% of the maximum nominal strengths less than48 hours and not 28 days.

Of course, fibers of all possible qualities and geometries, steel reinforcements and a wide
variety of aggregates can be added to the UHPC concrete. On our website you will find a long list of
these materials that we have been using for over 20 years. But if we want to compare material with
material fairly, we have to compare the base with each other and that means the pure UHPC binder without fibers and reinforcements.

A difference in the definition of UHPC is always a difference in quality.

                     Our HPC and UHPC compressive strength standard

Fast - Faster - UHPC Rapid for new installation and repair

For very fast assembly in the taxiway of an airport
we have delivered a special UHPC (Ultra high
Performance Concrete) Cast.

Last Airport project:
There had to be laid cable protection pipes in the
area of ​​the taxiway. For this purpose, a slot of
20cm / 7,87in wide, 100cm / 39,37in deep and
100meters /109yd long in the existing concrete
floor had to be milled. For the filling of the slot
after the cable protection pipes had been laid,
we delivered a quick-hardening UHPC Rapid
Cast. The setting time of this special UHPC
is 2-3 hours, depending on the environmental
conditions. After this time it reaches a strength
above 20 MPa / 2900 psi. The final strength
after 48 hours is about 80 - 100 MPa /
1160 - 14500 psi.


Originally the UHPC Rapid product series
was developed about 20 years ago for wear
protection repairs in steel plants, power plants,
mining plants and cement plants.
Later, the UHPC Rapid was used not only as
a mortar but also as a cast and shotcrete. The
UHPC Rapid shotcrete was particularly used
in mining tunnels and the UHPC Rapid Cast
was used in the new lining and repair of
roadways, roads, storage areas and industrial
floors.

Meanwhile, it is also used as repair material
in airports, on highways and bridges.

hhbc-consulting and WPE DK service for HPC and UHPC material handling

We would like to share our more than 25 years of experience

in development, production and application in more than one

hundred industries worldwide. We would like to accompany

our customers in our journey in the future development of

HPC and UHPC binder and concrete.
That's why we've developed this customer service organization with our most experienced staff and international partners.

 

We offer the full range of services to all interested parties. Country of event: Germany
The majority of our service offer can also take place on the premises of the respective interested parties by prior arrangement, provided that they have the appropriate premises.

 

We offer this service for our following HPC and UHPC
HPC      - C80 - C140                                       Mortar, Castable, Shotcrete
UHPC   - C150 - C240                                     Mortar, Castable, Shotcrete
UHPC   - Phalt                                                 Semi rigid overlay system
UHPC   - TopLayer                                          Concrete industrial floorings
UHPC   - Security                                             Military and Security
UHPC   - Offshore                                            Offshore Grouting
UHPC   - Wear Protection                                Mortar, Castable, Shotcrete
UHPC   - Leight Weight, insulation                 Mortar, Castable, Shotcrete
UHPC   - HT Hight Temperature resistant       Mortar, Castable, Shotcrete

• HPC and UHPC Material Laboratory Service
  Reseach and Development
  Research of new raw material
  Documentation of the raw material
  Purchasing of raw materials


• HPC and UHPC Installations Service
  Supervisor
  Installation documentation
  Testing the customer processing machines for suitability for UHPC material

• HPC and UHPC Workshop Training Service
  Practical training of a castomer installation team
  Training of a Supervisor
  Training of the inhouse technican
  Training of the sales teams


• 

  Training of Instructors Service
  Practical and theoretical training of the customer instructor


• Workshop Repair Service
  Documentation of repair methodes


• Engineering Service
  Construction of a mixing plant
  Construction of a UHPC production
  Project consulting
  Technical documentation incl. drawings
  Quality control
   
  Appointments in our workshop or at interested parties as well as the scheduling are coordinated by us after a discussion with the interested parties according to their needs.
  If you are interested, please contact us via: service@hhbc-consulting.de
  

UHPC - Asphalt Combination for high speed race circuits

Many friends and customers of our UHPC
Ultra High Performance Concrete material have repeatedly asked us in the past why there are streets, lanes, squares, etc. with UHPC Phalt (UHPC Phalt semi-flexible wearing course consist of an open-graded asphalt filled with high strength UHPC mortar) content that are exposed to extreme traffic and environmental conditions but are not race tracks. 

We are big fans of automobile or motorcycle

racing. We are also very confident that we can

develop and deliver extremely good pavement 

systems for high speed racetracks or city courses.

Unfortunately, we have no contact with the

operators, organizers or architects. 

If you think about it, UHPC Phalt is a very

good solution for the strain of the racetracks.

With a standard road asphalt surface, the quality

can only be changed via the quality of the

asphalt. The new thing is that at UHPC Phalt

the quality of the surface can be changed via

the quality of the asphalt and the UHPC. So

there are combinations that standard asphalt

cannot offer. In addition, the expected lifetime without loss of quality of the combination 

covering is several times longer.

The original idea for developing this material

combination was to line roads, runways and

industrial roads with extreme traffic loads and

extreme environmental conditions with an

extremely hard and heavy-duty UHPC-Asphalt

combination. The implementation of this idea

was very successful, as the experiences of the

last 25 years show.

The UHPC Phalt material combination can

be set so that it is extremely abrasion-resistant /

wear-resistant or extremely load-bearing or

extremely resistant to temperature changes. In

city streets, the UHPC Phalt surface does not

lose its properties even after years of continuous traffic.

So there should be enough reasons to use this
surface on high-speed racetracks and street
circuit racetracks.

Technical advantages of UHPC Phalt

- Very high wear resistant
- Very high pressure resistant
- Extreme low material deformation
- Constant temperature resistance
   from - 60°C/-76°F - +90°C/+194°F
- Very simple and fast installation
- Very short curing times
- Can be laid on asphalt concrete or
   similar substrates
- Installation with standard laying
   machines
- Cheap material costs
- Extremely long durability
- Very high corrosion resistant
- Variable surface design
- Variable layer thicknesses

UHPC flooring system for residential housing, parking decks and concrete repair

The UHPC is known in the industry as extreme

wear-resistant flooring for more than 25 years.

Recently, UHPC floor coverings are increasingly

being used in residential housing projects. One

of the many advantages over traditional floor

coverings is that the UHPC floor covering is

absolutely watertight from a layer thickness of

8 mm. UHPC floor coverings can be processed

just like normal cement screed. In  addition to

the above-mentioned waterproofness, UHPC

flooring coverings also have a very high

compressive strength.

UHPC floor coverings are ideal partners for all

kind underfloor heating systems.

The fast strength development, with more than

70% of the nominal strength achieved after 48

hours in the normal quality, makes it an

interesting floor covering for a variety of

applications.

If repairs are carried out in damp basements or

damp existing floors, UHPC flooring can be

installed directly on the damp surface.

UHPC flooring is also an outstandingly extremely

durable corrosion protection for everything that

is cast in this material, such as reinforcements

and for that already a few millimeters cover is

sufficient.

If UHPC concrete is used, expensive electrical

corrosion protection systems or corrosion

protection coatings are unnecessary.

UHPC machine beds, frames and foundation for a high-tech machines

Various UHPC binder systems have been used by us for more than 25 years worldwide for different
industries such as cement plants, power plants, iron, steel and mining industries. Developed and produced as wear protection and industrial flooring or as foundations and anchoring systems for the offshore and engineering industries.

UHPC concretes are very suitable for machine beds and frames of any kind of high-precision drilling machines, grinding and milling machines.

The advantages
A very high surface quality. Due to the accuracy of the moulds, subsequent machining can often be dispensed with. With UHPC, an accuracy of 0.1 mm/0.004 in from the mould can be achieved when using suitable moulds. The accuracy can be increased to 0.005 mm/0.0002 in by grinding.
Very high pressure resistance
Very good stiffness and dimensional stability

Very good damping properties compared to cast steel constructions and same vibration damping as natural stone. The vibration damping of UHPC concretes is approx. 70 - 80% faster than standard cast steel constructions. Higher precision with faster processing speed.

Thermal properties:
Applicable up to 450°C/840°F without loss of engineering properties and dimensional stability.
High thermal shock resistance
Inertia during heat transfer
Low thermal expansion
Non-flammable

Very good flowability.
High integration capability. All types and sizes of anchors, pins, threaded sleeves, structural steel elements
and pipes can be cast without problems.
Extreme adhesion to cast-in fasteners and anchor elements.
Very high corrosion resistance
Due to the high strength development, material thicknesses and material weights can be calculated significantly lower.
UHPC castings can be removed from the mould within 24 hours and reach more than 70% of their final strength after 48 hours.
Faster delivery times
Drastically reduced costs
Elements made of UHPC can be recycled and reused like normal construction waste.
Due to the low energy consumption and low CO2 impact, the production is much more environmentally friendly than cast, steel and reactive resin concrete.


Technical data for UHPC Cast products

Density 2400 - 2900 kg/m3 / 168 - 181 lb/ft3
Compressive strength after 2 days 100 - 120 MPa / 14500 - 17500 psi
Compressive strength after 28 days 140 - 250 MPa / 20300 - 36200 psi
Flexural strength 17 - 29 MPa / 2755 - 4200 psi
Max. Process temperature 450°C / 840°F


Applications
UHPC is suitable
for foundations, beds and frame parts of highly dynamic machine tools
for foundations of highly loaded machines, e.g. engines, generators, turbines, etc.
for foundations in the paper, wood, printing and textile industries

WPE DK International

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

 

Wine and UHPC - How does it work?

We were approached by an architects office if we could imagine working on a redevelopment project. In this case, it is about the renovation of a very old wine cellar. 

The cellar floor in particular is in need of refurbishment, plus a few storage foundations for large wine barrels. In some places, the floor has, among other things, moisture damage. We could make the floor permanently watertight with a few millimeters of UHPC. The new flooring should be as bright as possible and have a specific structure, which is also possible with UHPC. 

The old cellar vault also needs to be renovated in some places and the architects wants to give a very large room for wine tasting a new design. First models with UHPC / old wood combinations will be executed by us in the near future. As wooden material we use, among other things, old grapevines.

UHPC concrete and residential housing construction - infinitely new possibilities

HPC and UHPC materials open up completely new worlds for architects, designers construction companies.

What is the difference between UHPC and standard concrete or natural stone?

The material  

HPC and UHPC binder systems are based on a very low cement content. All HPC and UHPC materials
are fully recyclable and have a service life of 100+ years. It is possible to mix HPC and UHPC binder systems with recycled aggregate. With HPC and UHPC binder systems, up to 50% construction material including reinforcement can be saved due to the high strength values.

The processing
HPC and UHPC materials can be easily processed as mortar, castable or Shotcrete material. The w/c ratio for our HPC and UHPC materials is between 0.22 and 0.17. There are no additives necessary. Pre-cast elements of all sizes and geometries can be produced in exactly the same way as large quantities of elements.

The design
HPC and UHPC surfaces and structures can be made extremely fine. This makes it possible to replicate almost all surfaces that occur in nature exactly. Whether in large or extremely fine size. HPC and UHPC can be combined with all kind of minerals, metals, plastics, pigments, woods, glasses, etc.

The resistance
HPC and UHPC is absolutely waterproof after just less than a 1/2 inch of layer thickness. HPC and UHPC is extremely corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant and easily resists all kind of animal attacks.

The properties
HPC and UHPC has a much higher compressive strength than very good concrete qualities. HPC and UHPC is very flowable and self-compacting in its casting version. HPC and UHPC concrete achieves its maximum strength within less than 48 hours.

The heat resistance
HPC and UHPC in its standard version can withstand temperatures up to 450°C/842°F permanently.
UHPC in its high temperature version can withstand temperatures up to over 1000°C/1832°F permanently. A normal fire, wildfire and bushfire even over a longer period of time can not damage a UHPC construction.

The facade
Vertical and horizontal gardens can be created with HPC and UHPC facades and roof structures. The HPC and UHPC specially produced for these applications is very light, is rot-resistant, waterproof, and plant roots cannot penetrate it. It can be laid seamlessly on a flat roof. For vertical (facade) gardens, combination constructions according to the design of architects or garden designers can easily be made in any size.

The insulation
UHPC can be combined with a variety of modern high performance insulation materials. With these
combinations, it is possible even at extreme outdoor temperatures without great expenditure of
energy to achieve pleasant internal temperatures easily. UHPC in this combination is extremely high energy efficient. 

 

The lightweight HPC and UHPC binder
We have developed lightweight HPC and UHPC mortars, castable and sprayable concretes that offer up to 50% weight savings compared to standard concrete.

The security
UHPC in a certain combination of materials is extremely well burglary resistant.

 Areas where UHPC offers great advantages

• Pool decks

  

• Curbs

• Steps

• Wall 

• Concrete ramps

• Swale

• Drive ways

• Footings, foundation, slabs

• Pads, additions, floors

 

UHPC in alternative and regenerative energy production

UHPC materials are used in all processes of alternative and active native energy production used as the material for foundations, as a lining-material for protection against corrosion, wear and as a construction material. Due to the diverse application possibilities and the superior properties compared to standard concrete qualities, UHPC are increasingly used in the mentioned areas. UHPC has the advantage that it can be processed just like standard concretes.

Hydroelectric power plants or storage power plants
Due to the extreme corrosion resistance of UHPC concrete constructions with a much higher reinforcement density per volume can be used. This can significantly increase the strength of the construction or the wall thicknesses or layer thicknesses can be reduced while maintaining strength.
In the right combination UHPC is very resistant to wear and cavitation.
Since UHPC already reaches 70% of its maximum nominal strength in the standard quality after 48 hours and in the special quality after only 12 hours.
UHPC is available as mortar, casting material and shotcrete material.

Tidal power plants
Some tidal power plant systems are already being used in Europe and Asia. There are now a lot of technical variations of tidal power plants for the coasts but also for directly in the sea. One thing all needs a stable seawater resistant and durable foundation.
Based on the experience gained with the foundation systems of the offshore wind power plants, high quality UHPC materials are ideally suited for this purpose. In particular, the enormous adhesive power of UHPC in anchoring and bolt system is required here. What is once shed in a UHPC foundation can no longer be removed from the foundation, even with enormous forces. Not only in this regard, UHPC is many times superior to normal standard concrete.

Biogas power plant

Biogas has been produced in many small plants in the past. There are already very large production facilities in Europe. The plants have corrosion and wear problems due to the production process. Especially wherever standard concrete was used. Here, a UHPC protective layer of a few millimeters can be used to achieve permanent corrosion protection. To achieve a very long service life, UHPC concrete should be used for the new construction.

Railway bridge repair or new construction with UHPC concrete

One of our many bridge projects we have this year. They are highway bridges and railway bridges. In this case, a railway bridge that was built shortly after the war from simple steel girders and heavy concrete. There are up to 65 freight trains passing this bridge daily.

It is not yet clear if the bridge can be repaired with UHPC or if the bridge has to be completely rebuilt from UHPC. There are still some reports necessary.

The advantage of UHPC in a repair is the UHPC as corrosion protection, as joint and crack filling and as additional static reinforcement can be used easily. The repair time can be minimized by the extremely fast setting time.
In the case of a new building, the size of the bridge can be easily used with a UHPC precast technology, which also reduces the blockage of the rail track to a minimum.

UHPC Shotcrete for new construction and repair projects

UHPC Shotcrete is a high strength, high density, fast curing UHPC concrete consisting of a UHPC nanobinder system and ceramic or mineral aggregates.

Due to the very high compressive strength in combination with a high material packing density and hard aggregates, a flexible and easy-to-process sprayable UHPC concrete with material properties that exceeds those of normal concrete by many times. All UHPC Shotcrete products are selfcompacting.

The high material density of UHPC Shotcrete prevents the penetration of liquid or gaseous foreign substances. UHPC Shotcrete achieves the maximum material properties only by wet spraying.

Fields of application for UHPC Shotcrete

 - Repair of bridges

 - Repair of dams and reservoirs

 - Seismic retrofit

 - Repair of sewers

 - Ground support - Stabilisation

 - Soil nailing

 - Tunneling

 - New construction of pools

 - New construction of foundation

 - Landscape design

 - Pools

 - Tanks

 - Domes

 - Foundation

UHPC - Grouting material for the Offshore industry

Our UHPC grouting products are a pumpable and developed for offshore application and has been used widely in connection with structural strengthening of offshore platforms.

Such UHPC grouting products have been used offshore in connection with

• Strengthening of intact tubular members
• Reinforcement of joints
• Repair of damaged members
• Pile-sleeve connections
• Strengthening of double skin sections

An example of a spectacular application of such solutions with respect to member repair is for a
member having experienced hydrostatic collapse, where the member was re-inflated and filled with ultra high performance grout. In another case our solutions were applied in connection with a pile-driving refusal (changing the intended shear key connection to a plain pipe connection). UHPC grouting high strength material was used as grout material in stead of the intended conventional grout. In the above selected cases the design strength of the members was re-established due to the extreme effect offered by high strength materials and at the same time the solutions was economically attractive.

One of the main advantages of using grouted solutions in connection with repair is the easy
accommodation of geometrical irregularities. Structural components subjected to some kind of damage (from installation, impact or accident) often show some dents or imperfections. The use of ultra high performance grout in connection with repair improves the performance hereof as the UHPC grout serves not just as a filling material but as a strong structural component.

Our UHPC grouting products are suitable for casting both above and below water. Due to viscous consistency of the mixed materials there is no risk of washing out cement particles or mixing with water when cast below sea level. 

The UHPC grouting products for Offshore have been developed having very low shrinkage so that
the grout and surrounding steel remains in physical contact after curing. Further, these products has been developed to show limited heat development during the hardening process eliminating the risk of thermal cracking.

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