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Innovative concrete solutions |
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Steel fiber concrete for the world’s longest concrete slab
PETRA III, the world’s most powerful storage ring
X-ray source, is under construction at the site of the
German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg.
Future experiments required a hall floor which was
vibration-free, extremely stable and as decoupled as
possible from the rest of the building. These requirements
could be met by a floor slab 280 meters long,
24 meters wide and 1 meter thick. Holcim Germany
delivered 6,500 cubic meters of ready-mix concrete to
the building site, including 3,300 cubic meters of steel
fiber concrete for the core section of the experimental
hall. 120 Holcim employees worked 62 hours without
interruption to deliver the high-grade ready-mix concrete
in over 850 truck loads.
With the development of shrinkage-compensated
concrete, Holcim Apasco in Mexico has succeeded
in casting concrete slaps up to 1,600 square meters
in size and in reducing the proportion of joins by up
to 90 percent. Despite higher material costs, total
expenditure can be reduced due to shorter construction
times and labor savings. The low proportion of
joins also results in a user-friendly concrete surface
with a long service life.
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System solutions for specific customer needs
Holcim Brazil has launched micro cements which can
be injected into porous subsoils due to their small
particle size. The special equipments and pumps
required were developed by Holcim. The Microinject
system solution has already been successfully used
to seal tunnel arches and other structures and to
repair road surfaces. This saves the need for extensive
demolition and repair work. The Group company
offers these operations as a full service and licenses
the technology to third parties.
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Concrete as a design feature
In addition to its technical properties, concrete is
increasingly being used as a design feature in structural
and civil engineering projects. Holcim France has
developed an innovative product family under the
name Articimo®. Fibers, pigments and special surface
treatments can be used to achieve a wide variety of
external effects on the facades of buildings and on
floor surfaces. As well as catering for aesthetic needs,
the techniques also meet stringent technical requirements,
like durability. Products developed on the basis
of Articimo® have even found their way into living
environments. A key component of this successful
brand is partnership-based cooperation with
customers. To this end, Holcim has established a
network of specialist users of Articimo® systems and
assists partner firms with experts from its technical
customer service department.
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Water-permeable concrete
There are also other ways in which concrete surfaces
can shine. The development of water-permeable
concrete surfacing materials helps to counter the
problem of sealed surfaces. In addition to this special
concrete, Aggregate Industries UK has also launched
system components that trap and store the rainwater
that seeps through the surfacing material, obviating
the need to build detention basins. The seepage water
is then either channeled for further use or discharged
into the soil in regulated quantities. This relieves the
pressure on drainage systems during periods of heavy
rainfall, thereby mitigating the environmental impact.
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Related information |
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| Innovative concrete solutions
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Our production processes |
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See how we produce cement, aggregates, and concrete
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