UHPC use under extreme cold conditions in the offshore industry

UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete in his

high quality material version is an interesting

alternative to steel in many applications in

water and ice.

Benefit of UHPC

 -  UHPC is extremely resistant to wear and can

        withstand even the hardest ice floes.

 -  UHPC does not require corrosion protection.

 -  UHPC is absolutely seawater resistant.

 -  UHPC has tremendous strength.

 -  UHPC can easily withstand temperatures from 

        -180°C / 356°F to + 500°C / 932°F without

        being damaged.

 -  UHPC can adapt to all geometries.

 -  UHPC can be processed locally by local

        installers without special machinery.

 -  UHPC can be processed as casting compound,

        mortar or as a shotcreating compound.

 -  From UHPC very small as well as extremely

        large prefabricated elements can be manufactured.

 -  UHPC can be used to statically carry parts.
 -  UHPC is very resistant to a variety of chemicals.

 -  High temperature resistant UHPC does not lose

        its strength even at high temperatures.

 -  UHPC has a lower weight than steel.
 -  UHPC is made more sustainable than steel.

 -  UHPC can also be processed in damp areas

        and underwater.

For some years, UHPC has been used in the offshore

industry to repair oil rig platforms. You could
imagine producing whole oil rig platforms made of
UHPC. The foundations for all offshore wind
turbines worldwide are manufactured using UHPC
materials. In the past, complete ships were made
from UHPC.

Port facilities, jetties, quay walls, weirs, dykes, etc.
were already made from UHPC. UHPC offers new,
long-lasting options for coastal protection and life
on and in the water.

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

The jungle of short names for high strength concrete

I would like to try to clarify the jungle of
short names of high strength concrete
 names in the literature. The reason for
this is, that I have once again read a technical
master thesis from the field of civil
construction of a European university and
where only with short descriptions is
thrown around.

The first high-strength cement binder with a
compressive strength of well over 100 MPa
was developed in Denmark more than 30 years
ago. The aim of the development was to
produce a high-strength cement binder, which
was also very successful. At that time, the
focus was on the binder and not on possible
aggregates or reinforcement systems. For this
reason, an extremely high-strength binder was

always used in all the discussions.
Much later, to the dismay of many, the term
UHPC appeared in the literature. In our opinion,
this term UHPC cannot be clearly defined. It
also seems to be a fad to further water down this
term and everyone who thinks he has understood
ultra high-strength concrete creates his own short
form.


I would like to list the short forms here and provide
appropriate comments.

The UHPC binder is made of a special grade of 
cement, microsilica and superplasticizer.

UHPC    Ultra High Performance Concrete

Consists of UHPC binder + aggregates, which

can have different material grades and grain sizes
There are no standards which additives and surcharges of
which material quality and grain size must be used.

HPC    High Performance Concrete

Consists of cement + aggregates + additives
There are no standards which additives and surcharges of 
which material quality and grain size must be used. Likewise, 
there are no standards about the technical properties.

RHPC    Reinforced High Performance Concrete

Consists of cement + aggregates + additives and
unspecified reinforcement
There are no standards which additives and surcharges of 
which material quality and grain size must be used. Likewise, 
there are no standards about the technical properties. There
is no specification for material quality, dimensions and 
quantities for the reinforcement

HRUHPC    Heavy Reinforced Ultra High Performance Concrete

Consists of UHPC binder + aggregates, which
can have different material qualities and grain
sizes, and an unspecified reinforcement
There are no standards which additives and surcharges of 
which material quality and grain size must be used. 
Likewise, there are no standards about the technical 
properties. There is no specification for material quality, 
dimensions and quantities for the reinforcement

SFRC    Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Consists of cement + aggregates + additives +
steel fibers
There are no standards which additives and surcharges of 
which material quality and grain size must be used. Likewise, 
there are no standards about the technical properties. For the 
fibers there is no specification of material quality, dimensions
and quantities.

RPC    Reactive Power Concrete

Consists of cement + sand + quarz powder, 
silica fume, steel fiber and superplasticizer
There is no standards of the quality of cement, sand 
silica fume must be used.


Anyone, university, technical literature or expert, will
take part in this Babylonian jumble without bothering
to really specify UHPC. At the moment many talk
about many things, but only a few about the same.

In my opinion, there should be only one UHPC binder
quality with one name and what is admixed to like
aggregates, fiber, reinforcements and much more is up
to the user. The UHPC binder manufacturer should only
manufacture according to the UHPC binder specification.

If one agreed internationally on a technical specification,
there would be very few UHPC producers from that day
on and many would have to name their products
differently or dramatically improve their material quality.

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

UHPC the future competitor of steel in many applications

We know many people think UHPC is just
a concrete, possibly a special concrete and
with this concrete you do what you just do
with concrete, nothing more. People which
think in this way, should not continue to
deal with UHPC in the future and continue
to mix their old beautiful concrete.

The philosophy of hhbc-consulting is not
the simple replacement of concrete with
UHPC. That would be like replacing gravel
with diamonds.

We use UHPC in the construction industry
where it makes sense, in very specific areas
but our real competitor market in the future
is the steel market. There are a huge number
of applications where UHPC is better, more
durable, cheaper, easier and faster to
manufacture than steel.
UHPC is corrosion and wear resistant and in a HT Version also high temperature resistant (up
to more than 1000°C).


One example of many from the past years, Rolling bearing systems
A steel mill suffered damage to several rolling bearings in the area of ​​the rolling line (the area where the hot slabs are rolled at high speed and high speed to thinner plates). These rolling bearings are manufactured from a very special casting. The problem was that not enough bearing systems were available. These bearing systems are extremely expensive and have a very long delivery time.
In this case the steel plant would have had to wait more than 4 months. What would mean 4 months, the rolling mill could only be used to 30% of the capacity, a million loss.

By chance, we had heard of this problem in a
meeting for a machine floor renovation. We
looked at the drawings and specifications out
of pure interest. After a short internal
discussion, we made the following proposal
to the plant management:
We can copy the bearing completely made of UHPC. We could mix the UHPC material with graphite balls of a certain quality and size. We could achieve a high compressive strength of the material. We could process it to have similar surface roughness as the original bearing and what was extremely important we were sure to provide such a bearing to the factory in just four weeks.
We have provided the factory with the bearing systems within four weeks at one sixth of the original price. The bearings were in operation for 5 months, by 80% of the production capacity until they could be replaced with the newly made cast bearings. We have saved a lot of money for the plant with our UHPC solution.
´

The future of floating architecture with HPC and UHPC

With our HPC and UHPC Navy material system we offer architects, designers, construction companies and shipyards special materials with high strength and extreme resistance as an alternative to conventional construction materials such as steel, plastic and wood.
HPC and UHPC Navy is a high performance concretes and by no means comparable to standard concretes. HPB and UHPC Navy surpasses standard concrete by up to ten times in all technical aspects.
The material systems consists of an HPC or UHPC binder with quartz sand as an aggregate.
HPC and UHPC Navy can be processed as shotcrete, castable or mortar. As a reinforcement fiberglass, carbon fiber, plastic fiber or steel fiber mats can be used. In a multi-laminate construction of HPC or UHPC Navy they have very high strength and at the same time high elastic properties. HPC and UHPC Navy is waterproof from a layer thickness ofless than a 1/2 inc (10 mm). After 48 hours, UHPC Navy has reached 70% of its final strength.
You do not need special machines for processing. The processing should be carried out by professional companies. For private individuals, we always advise a supervisor of us or our partner to request for the manufacture of the hull.

Properties of HPC and UHPC Navy binder systems

• High pressure resistance
• High bending tensile strength
• Absolutely seawater resistant
• Frost and de-icing salt resistant
• Extremely high thermal shock resistance
• Constant temperature resistant up to 400°C /750°F
• In a special high temperature version resistant up to 1200°C / 2190°F
• As floating, very low dead weight
• Very fast curing
• High impact and wear resistance
• All kinds of installations are possible in the construction
• Very accurate production of prefabricated element is possible
• Very thin-layered structures can be poured off

This UHPC Navy material offers the possibility to design boat hulls, houseboats, pontoons, marinas, port facilities and transfer hotels, restaurants, schools, industrial facilities, entire residential areas and airfields on the water.

The lifetime can be assumed with 100+ years.



 

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

Protection of river banks and bridges with UHPC technology

At a meeting of local councils in the alpine

region, hhbc-consulting and WPE DK were

invited as guests to discuss possible

rehabilitation and protection of river banks

and bridges. Due to climate change, especially 

in the mountainous regions, the streams and 

rivers are flooded with enormous amounts 

of water as a result of enormous amounts of 

rain and continuous snow melt. In addition 

to the water flowing at high speed, ever 

greater quantities of debris are also being 

transported. Water and debris are increasingly 

damaging bank and bridge structures. For the 

most part, they are not designed for these 

quantities.

One of the main points of this discussion,
was the rehabilitation of the massive damage
caused by scree and water masses on the
construction of the riverbanks, especially in
areas of river diversion and river guidance
in villages and towns.

Particularly the rising water masses among
other things by massive lasting rains and
resulting high flow velocities with scree
movements give rise to concern.

As one of the possible solutions for the future,
the use of UHPC Ultra High Performance
Concrete as a refurbishment material and as
construction material for renewed protective
installation was discussed.

UHPC concrete would offer concrete with its
extreme strength (over 140 MPa - 240 MPa),
very high wear resistance and extremely high
corrosion resistance.

In addition, a joint-free processing is possible.

Due to these characteristics, the design of river

banks and river diversions with artificial rock

constructions made of UHPC was discussed.

As assembly methods for UHPC, assembly

pre-fabricated elements, casting or spray-on-site

(Shotcrete) assembly was discussed.

Since UHPC develop within 48 hours 70% of its

nominal strength are very fast in assembly methods

and thus the repair time is very short.

Due to the many years of experience we have in
offshore and coastal areas, first projects have
been agreed.

UHPC concrete in the petroleum production and processing industry

In the oil producing and processing industry,
UHPC Ultra high Performance concrete can
and will be used in a variety of applications
such as securing material, repair material,
construction material, wear protection and
corrosion protection used.

For the use of offshore platforms UHPC is an
ideal construction, repair and corrosion material.
UHPC can be processed without problems in humid
environments. UHPC is water-permeable even in
low layer thicknesses. UHPC is absolutely saltwater
resistant and can be processed underwater. UHPC in
its high temperature version can be used up to
1000°C/1832°F continuous temperature. UHPC
retains much of its strength at this temperature,
whereas steel has long lost its strength. UHPC is
extremely resistant to rapid temperature fluctuations.

In crude oil processing UHPC can be used as
corrosion protection, wear protection, safety
construction or as construction material.

UHPC concrete are also particularly suitable for the
fracking industry and as oilwell cement.

In the oil refineries and oil ports, UHPC is a perfect

material for all security components. Here, security
can also be interpreted as security against terrorist
attacks. UHPC is extremely corrosion-resistant and
liquid-tight from a wall thickness of 10 mm. Pipes
can be protected against wear and corrosion from
the inside. Important and sensitive constructions
can be permanently protected against temperature
and wear with UHPC. There are already plans to
construct complete crude oil tanks from UHPC. In
case of fires, they would maintain their strength even
at extreme temperatures. Security-related buildings

and production facilities can be protected against a
terrorist attack. Port facilities and loading and
unloading jetty facilities can be permanently
protected against seawater corrosion.

Mixer for UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete

What is the use of the best UHPC Ultra
High Performance Concrete product if
you do not have the right mixer to mix
this product perfectly? If possible, a
mixer can handle casting compound,
mortar and Shotcrete mass without it
has an effect on the finished UHPC
product.
There are a lot of different mixer types
in the international market. Some may
mix casting compound, other mortar
compound and yet another Shotcrete

mass. Only a few can mix all the masses
well and few of them can mix the UHPC
products perfectly.
We prefer more than 25 years compulsory
mixers or pan pot mixers called. They
have never disappointed us on all our
international construction sites. They are
very sturdy, at least we use and they are
very easy to handle.

Different mixers can be used for different

requirements and markets.

In general, shaft or pan pot mixers are the

best choice for all applications and markets.
For industrial applications such as Offshore,

wear protection, industrial flooring, corrosion

protection, etc., where the highest quality

requirements are set, the best mixers must

also be used, i.e. pan pot or shaft mixer.
Furthermore, our UHPC requires mortar

qualities for mixing powerful pan pot or

shaft mixers.

When mixing UHPC Cast, we recommend

using pan pot or shaft mixers. It is also

possible to mix with standard UHPC Cast

material. With smaller quantities of UHPC

Cast it is also possible to use a hand mixer.
We have used a large number of mixers

worldwide in our more than 25 years of

assembly work. Most mixers failed because

they are underpowered. It is just a difference

to mix a UHPC or a standard concrete.

For our customers we have put together an

information brochure about mixers, which

you can get from us free of charge in paper

format or as a download.

Laboratory mixing devices can also be used

for small quantities of up to one kilogram of

mixing material or, if the performance is right,

kitchen mixing devices can also be used.
We and our worldwide partners have pan pot

or shaft mixers with different services in our

workshop. You can hire these mixers for

processing on request.
You can also get a list of international mixer

manufacturers with whom we have already

worked.

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

Precast elements and Tilt-up manufacturing with HPC and UHPC concrete

HPC and UHPC concrete are very suitable for processing on the construction site in the Tilt-up system or in precast concrete plant. Residential housing and industrial buildings of all sizes can be manufactured using these two systems.

HPC and UHPC concrete has a long list of advantages over standard concrete

- High tensile strength- Extremely high compressive strength
- Very fast strength development
- UHPC elements have a very high production accuracy. If the mold is   exact, the element is exact.
- High chemical resistant
- Absolute corrosion resistant
- Even small layers already lead to an absolute waterproofness.

- Customer requirements such as burglary resistant, fire resistant, storm resistant and acoustic properties as well as noise reduction can be easily met.
- Combinations with a high-performance insulation layer reduce energy costs by several times compared to wooden houses or brick houses.
- The required wall thicknesses are only a fraction of comparable housing designs.

Tilt-up elements
Tilt-up elements are manufactured using locally produced molds and concrete in a wide variety
of HPC and UHPC concretes produced by us achieve 70% of their nominal strength in just 48 hours, the average nominal strength of our UHPC concretes is 140 MPa / 20000 psi.

Due to the compessive and flexuaral strength, it is possible to work with considerably smaller wall thicknesses, which leads to substantial material reductions and costs.
The extremely fast development of strength leads to faster assembly, the overall completion time is significantly reduced, which can also lead to cost reduction.

Precast elements
Prefabricated systems have been used in Europe for more than 50 years. There is a huge amount of standard residential house design variations from small houses, garages, workshops to entire building

complexes. Architects design exceptional prefabricated houses according to customer requirements. The elements are already manufactured and prepared weeks in advance in a precast plant, so that only a few days are needed on the construction site for a complete completion.
The advantage is the very small footprint on site.
The elements come with trucks in the correct assembly order on the construction site. A crane positions the elements and very few fitters are needed for assembly. It can be installed all year round, regardless of the weather contitions.

USA - UHPC Presentation

That was our UHPC meeting in 2019 in Houston Texas. We have been asked again and again for a further meeting in the USA since there is now an increasing demand for UHPC material of high quality for architecture, coastal protection, offshore, alternative energies and road / bridge construction.
Our partner ASANTE in Texas is responsible for planning UHPC meetings in the USA. We ask all interested parties to report to Douglas Miller.


Today, our three-day UHPC presentation in Houston
Texas ended with the hands-on presentation of
UHPC Shotcrete, UHPC Cast and UHPC / Asphalt.

All participants of the previous presentations were
particularly interested in the processing of UHPC material.
During the presentation different repair methods for bridges, concrete and asphalt pavements were discussed. Especially
the possibility of using UHPC with low pressure in the
Shotcrete process was very much in demand.
All participants expect a quick build-up of our UHPC
production in Houston.

             Some participants were interested in the uses of UHPC in  
             boatbuilding and floating homes. Architects are planning the first
             major projects for floating homes worldwide for the coming year.

             The applications of our UHPC Desert sand binder and desert sand in
             the fracking and oil well industry surprised almost all participants.
             We would like to thank all participants for their open discussions and
             suggestions. We will try to answer all requests for information and
             project inquiries as soon as possible.

             In particular, we would also like to thank our partner ASANTE for
             their excellent cooperation in preparation and processing. Douglas 
                                                  you have done a very good job.

Upon request, ASANTE and hhbc-consulting
will provide the documents for the UHPC presentation.

Contact of ASANTE, Houston Texas
Douglas Miller  774 208 1766

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

New construction and repair of Jetties with UHPC concrete

For modern jetty constructions, UHPC concrete

offers many advantages compared to standard

concrete, steel or wooden constructions.

- All jetty elements can be prefabricated or cast
   on site in a short time.
- UHPC concrete has no or only extremely low
   pore volume and is thus absolutely seawater
   and corrosion resistant.
- UHPC concrete hardens under water. It can
   therefore be processed in and under water.
- UHPC concrete has a standard strength
   between 120 MPa/17400 psi and
   250 MPa/36250 psi.
- UHPC prefabricated elements can be made
   considerably thinner due to the very high
   strength and the absence of porosity, and
   thus with significantly less weight.

Due to the properties of UHPC concrete listed
above, such constructions do not require further
inspection. It can be assumed that the service
life is almost 100+ years.

Since UHPC concrete has very good wear and
impact resistance, harsh harbor conditions and
extreme environmental conditions such as ice
are no problem.

Installation

UHPC concrete can be produced by us as mortar,
casting compound or shotcrete mass. For processing,
a compulsory or pan pot mixer is needed. Our
shotcrete and castable UHPC material can also be
pumped over longer distances.

Repairs of damaged standard concrete, steel or 
wooden constructions

Jetties can be severely damaged by impact, corrosion,
rotting or faulty concrete processing. The repair
with UHPC concrete is simple and requires little
effort.

For preparation, remove any loose particles and
buildup such as clams, algae and the like.
A mold should be installed around the columns.
The water does not have to be removed from the mold.
The UHPC concrete is poured directly in the water.
The concrete displaces the seawater from the mold.
The mold can be removed after less than 48 hours.

This type of repair has been used for more than 20
years as a standard repair method on offshore platforms.

A try to replicate clay with UHPC

We had a lot of fun developing our UHPC binder for historical applications. Of course, we do not just sit in the lab and develop recipes, we try the recipes for the lime plaster and of course stucco practically.

Since most of us are not talented, we invited an expert. After about a day our workshop looked like we were renovating it and just like the workshop some of the team members had to undergo general cleaning.

The final goal was to recreate clay with UHPC. Clay is a fantastic natural material. Actually, UHPC does not copy it, but it was a lot of fun for everyone to try.

Here is a general short form of what we have achieved and what not:

• We have developed a UHPC binder that can be mixed with extremely fine sand to a clay-like consistency
• We need only a few water for all processing steps
• We do not need a furnace for strength development
• We can set the processing time and hardening time during the production of the binder as desired.
• The UHPC binder must be mixed with water in a compulsory mixer.
• The UHPC binder can be mixed as casting compound or clay-like solid.
• The UHPC binder can be made in different colors.

We had the material processed by a potter. His verdict was that if we worked on some set screws in the recipe, we would produce an interesting material. We did not expect a better judgment. Our goal was to get the sound as close as possible in consistency and workmanship. I would say we are not that bad.

 

 

WPE DK International

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