Ultra High Performance Concrete

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a relatively new cement-based composite material that offers unique advantages to the design and construction of highway infrastructure. Its mechanical (e.g., strength, ductility) and durability (e.g., resistance to moisture and ionic ingress) properties far outperform those of conventional concretes or traditional high performance concretes. This is achieved through advances in particle packing (both fine particles including cement replacement materials such as silica fume, and fine and coarse aggregates), increased quality control, large amounts of fibers acting as discontinuous reinforcement, and a very low water-to-cementing materials ratio (w/cm, 0.2-0.3). Our focus is on UHPCs with low cementing materials content, and optimized for both compressive/flexural strengths and toughness.

Paste design approach:

Aggregate Packing Design:

UHPC Testing: