Development of ultra-high performance concretes (UHPC) with local materials and optimization of the obtained products

TechnologyŠpanielskoTOES20200310001
Offers
Summary: 
A Spanish SME offers their expertise in UHPC and special concretes to develop (ultra) high performance concretes with local materials, improving their ratio performance/cost, to replace steel or normal concrete. They optimize structural design to reduce weight or increase durability and impact strength and assess the life cycle of the product. They seek partners from civil engineering, aquaculture, industry and energy sectors for a services agreement, research or technical cooperation.
Description: 
A Spanish company has a long expertise in the field of very-high and ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concretes (UHPC-UHPFRC), fiber-reinforced concretes (FRC) and other special concretes. The company offers services in the following fields: • Design, redesign, calculation and optimization of (precast) structural elements to minimize the volume of materials used and the maintenance costs. • Integration of advanced concrete technologies in precast plants and other industries to produce without secondary reinforcement, remove the concrete vibration, increase the concrete robustness or speed up the production. • Optimization of UHPC properties (rheology and hardened state) using local available components and technical assistance to scale-up the new concrete to industrial level. • Modification or optimization of dosages for the compliance with specific Norms. • Quality control of the client’s UHPC and other special concretes. Determination of fiber orientation factors and constitutive laws, among other relevant concrete properties. • Integration of quality control plan in the client’s factory for the production of the special concrete elements. • Planning, testing and analysis of small-scale and full-scale concrete elements in laboratory. • Development of life cycle assessment (LCA) of concrete products. UHPC can reduce the weight of a structure up to a 70% compared to an ordinary concrete structure, reducing transportation and manipulation costs. Its high compacity implies a more efficient design, much higher lifespan and the minimization of maintenance costs. In some structures or elements, the use of UHPC instead of steel, ordinary concrete or wood is the best choice in terms of durability and costs. This often happen in the following situations: • In aggressive exposure environments (seawater, acid, freeze-thawing cycles, impact, abrasion…) • In applications with difficult, expensive or continuous maintenance required • For products where transportation or manipulation costs are significant • In reparations of old structures where the weight of the new elements should be limited • Slabs where a minimum thickness is required • Elements that require high toughness, impact strength and/or abrasion resistance. • Elements where the reinforcement required is too high, so UHPC can replace it. • Elements that require special surface finishes • Architectural challenges and other disruptive applications • When it is searched to reduce the consumption of resources or to promote circular economy The company know-how is based in 10 years researching in the field of UHPC (dosage optimization, design and calculation of structures…) and the last four years producing precast UHPC structural elements for civil engineering, aquaculture, energy and housing sectors. The technical team of the company is highly skilled in the field of advanced materials, precast concrete elements, market-oriented research, project management and business strategy. Being a R&D-based and innovative company, it is beneficiary of three different H2020 projects (RIA-NMBP, Marie Curie Action and Blue Economy-EMFF) for the integration of self-healing technologies in real structures and the development of the blue economy with resilient concretes. The company is officially recognized as Innovative SME by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. The company is interested in being contacted by potential partners for services agreement or technical cooperation agreements where UHPC or other special concretes can be used to improve the current solutions. Moreover, the company is also interested in research cooperation agreements to develop solutions where UHPC can provide higher added value.
Type (e.g. company, R&D institution…), field of industry and Role of Partner Sought: 
The company searches, among others, for companies from the sector of precast concrete industry, modular housing, construction sector, civil engineering, industrial sector, security sector, offshore and blue-growth sector, mining sector and energy sector to exploit the capacities of UHPC in new or improved solutions that boost the sector competitiveness.
Stage of Development: 
Already on the market
IPR Status: 
Secret Know-how,Trade Marks
External code: 
TOES20200310001