UHPC Ultra-high-performance concrete

The Arctic Shield technology can be used to produce concrete products that can withstand shelling, explosions, high temperatures and extreme stress. This type of concrete is called ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and has been developed over the past 20 years. UHPC can be used for everything from trench defences and civil defence shelters to launch pads and extraordinary building structures. With the Arctic Shield technology applied to UHPC, we reach new levels of strength, flexibility and energy absorption. As a result, we can now cast thinner panels that still protect against high-caliber gunfire.

In a broad definition UHPC is defined as a cementitious composite material that has enhanced strength, durability, and tensile ductility compared to high-performance concrete. The main differences between UHPC and other types of high-performance concrete are 1) UHPC has a higher compressive strength (>150 MPa), 2) UHPC incorporates steel fibers in the mix, which ensures non-brittle behavior, and 3) UHPC mix design includes high total binder content and special selection of aggregates. In addition to the high cement content and selection of fine aggregates, UHPC mixes are formulated at a very low water-to-cement ratio to achieve extreme compression strength. The low wcr together with significant additions of steel fiber, make UHPC recipes highly viscous and challenging to work with.

Grafoam AB revives the development of UHPC by incorporating their own Arctic Shield Technology and balancing strength, ductility and workability. The first development product from this work is Arctic Shield UHPC for defense applications.