Ultra-high performance concrete is the essential innovation in concrete construction of the last decades. Its steel-like compressive strength of more than 150 MPa and its extremely dense structure without capillary pores allows the construction of concrete buildings which are considerably more filigree, material-saving and at the same time even more durable. Additionally, UHPC allows new, unconventional and exceedingly aesthetic architectural solutions that cannot be realized with conventional concrete. Altogether, UHPC-buildings are therefore significantly more sustainable than such of normal- or high-performance concrete. They are also – as shown in practical examples – not significantly more expensive in production and can even be considerably more cost-effective taking the complete lifetime into regard. Very successful first applications of UHPC in various countries have induced the Deutschen Ausschuss für Stahlbeton (German Association of Structural Concrete), to collect international and first German experiences in a progress report which was published in 2008. At the same time it was decided, that the application of UHPC in Germany should not be limited to a few company products as in other countries, but to create the preconditions to individually design, produce and purposefully apply UHPC from suitable, locally available raw materials. Therefore, various at that time open technical questions had to be answered. Here, the priority program SPP 1182 of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) came into effect, which was granted in 2005. The pro- gram was coordinated by the University of Kassel. In 33 projects, which were being worked on at 26 university and industrial research institutes, practically all open questions could be answered scientifically. The spectrum of aspects ranged from the raw materials and their characterization over fundamentals and practical assistance in the composition of the mixtures and the controlling and examination of the fresh concrete properties over the temporal evolvement and special features of the microstructure to the load-bearing and deformation behavior of the hardened concrete and its durability against substances harmful to concrete and reinforcement. Adequate material models and – on this basis – appropriate design methods were generated. Eventually, construction and joining processes were developed that enable the connection of the filigree UHPC-components, like for instance implants or glued joints.

Funding from 2005 to 2012

German Research Foundation (DFG) - project number 12591437.

Project-related publications:

Sustainable Building with Ultra-High Performance Concrete. Sustainable Building with Ultra-High Performance Concrete. Results of Priority Program 1182 funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Kassel: university press, 2014. ISBN: 978-3-86219-480-3 (print) ISBN: 978-3-86219-481-0 (e-book). Schriftenreihe Baustoffe und Massivbau; Heft 22 Editors: Michael Schmidt, Ekkehard Fehling, Susanne Fröhlich, Jenny Thiemicke