The UHPC Desert Book

Build in the desert
Build with the desert
Build in the desert
Version 1.0 2018BR 1

Build in the desert
Table of Contents
Desert
History
Today
Design
Construction site
Sand Processing
What is UHPC?
Desert Sand and UHPC
Exapmles of applications
Facades
Prefabricated elements
Sustainability, Environmental friendliness
Technical specifications
Mixing manual
.
The new future of construction

Build in the desert
Desert areas
There are desert areas on all continents of the world. We can understand deserts also
as a gigantic sand store.
There are also different types of deserts such as sand or dune deserts, boulders or stone
deserts, salt deserts. We want to focus here on the sand and dune desert areas.
People have always lived in all these areas. Where you live, you also build accommodations.
Area (km²) Name Continent
8700000 Sahara Africa
1560000 Australian Desert Australia
1300000 Arabic Desert areas Asia
1040000 Gobi Asia
900000 Kalahari Africa
330000 Taklamakan Asia
320000 Sonora North America
273000 Karakum Asia
273000 Tharr and Cholistan Asia

Build in the desert
History
It has been built in the deserts at all times. As a building material, everything was used
what you could find and process such as wood, scree, stones, sand, clay, etc. The
construction techniques for protection against the enormous heat were always intelligent
with time. From small shelters to large buildings, forts and whole cities. All kind of building
construction you can find in desert areas. Many of these buildings are very old and still in
a good condition.

Build in the desert
Today
Today, only in historical areas of cities are old
techniques and building materials used. These
ancient cities today are places of high cultural
value, they give people a local identity.
The booming areas such as hotels, financial
districts, office districts, airports, traffic routes
and residential areas of extremely high quality
are today mainly made of steel, concrete and glass.
These modern buildings are bigger and taller, they
are the status symbols of modern times.
The new plans for the future of renowned
architectural firms reduce the height and increase
the integration of liveable nature and sustainability.
Building sites for city extension
are extremely valuable on the
few coastal areas. Plenty of
money is invested in new land
reclamation. In the meantime
enowned architects have
recognized a far cheaper
alternative, the so-called floating architecture
(living on and on the water with desert sand
constructions). Buildings for living / working
that float on water. Floating architectural
buildings are nachored in a permanent
location.

Build in the desert
Design
Historic building design from
simple buildings with simple
decorations to palaces with
intricate decorations both inside
and outside consists of clay,
sand, ceramics, stones and
wood.
New modern building design is
often elegant, filgran, climate-
friendly and a variety of materials
are combined. In all modernity,
the historical, local reference is
never lost.
In all designs, the emphasis is
always on environmentally
friendly and sustainable use of
lokal materials.
Today, interiors can be made in an unprecedented elegance, filigree and beauty from local materials.
Furniture unicums made of a combination of UHPC, ebony and precious metals exude a timeless
calm.
We are working with nature material.
With UHPC and desert sand it is possible to copy natural stone structures and colors very well

Build in the desert
Construction site
Today, modern building
complexes should be completed
in a short time. A gigantic amount
of raw materials has to be moved
and installed. A variety of raw
materials is not produced in the
countries with construction boom
or is not available as a raw
material and must be imported.
The effort to import these types
of raw materials is not negligible
in terms of time and cost. Sand
for the production of concrete is
often one of these raw materials that must be imported from fare away.
Here is an example of the amount of sand that was moved for a single construction project
the Burj Khalifa
It was used for the construction about 257,000 cubic meters of sand, which corresponds
about 396,000 to or
19,800 trucks with a sand load of 20 to or
a hill with a length of 500 m, width 10 m and a height of 50 m
Important properties of a concrete for such construction projects are
• Very good strength values
• Constant material quality
• Good workability under extreme environmental conditions
• Good pumpability
• Fast curing
• Fast and flexible availability on site
The above experience can easily meet UHPC concrete
with desert sand

Build in the desert
Sand processing
The sand removal happens in different ways.
In Europe, old riverbeds are dredged or areas where sand has been deposited a very long
time ago. The end resultat are large holes in the earth.
In other countries, sand is dredged into riverbeds, beaches are worn away or sand is
sucked off at depths of more than 100 m in front of the sea coast. All of these mining
methods harm the nature for a very long time or destroy it forever.

Build in the desert
What is UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete
Standard cement binders are
mixed today with a water /
cement ratio of up to 0.7.
UHPC Ultra High Performance
Concrete was developed at the
beginning of the 80's in Denmark,
with the desire to achieve
standard strengths well in excess
of 100 MPa.
Only the right mixture of the right
cement binder quality with the
appropriate microsilica and the
right plsticieser quality leads to a
high quality UHPC material. The
percentage of microsilica and the
water / cement value of less than
0.22 are also very important here.
Unfortunately, the term UHPC is not internationally defined, so there are some products
on the international market that adorn themselves with the term UHPC but have very little
UHPC quality.

Build in the desert
Benefit of using UHPC Desert
• It can easily be processed natural desert sand
• Very good pumpability
• Fast strength development
• Extremely corrosion resistant
• High compression and bending tensile strength
• Easy processing
• High availability of sand
• Extremely high adhesion with almost every metallic and mineral material
• Absolute seawater resistance
• No to extremely low pore volume
A treatment / cleaning of the desert sand that means, among other things, seven, washing,
etc. is not required, except sands are used from scree, stone or steppe deserts.
UHPC Desert concrete can not be compared to any commercial concrete, if only because
the gravel can be completely eliminated without having the least loss of strength.
On the contrary, with an average compressive strength of over 70 MPa, the UHPC Desert
concrete is comparable to the highest quality grades.
The processing is easy, even under extreme environmental conditions. UHPC Desert
Beton is thus adjusted to the local processing possibilities and environmental conditions
already during production, which does not require a subsequent addition of additives.
Local production of UHPC binder
After completion of the first phase of UHPC Binder development for desert sand, we are
working parallel on a standard modular production line for this binder.
If suitable cement qualities are available locally, they can also be used alongside the local
desert sand for production.
The system we have designed is highly effective and can easily be extended depending on
local needs.
After a brief training by our service crew, the facility can also be serviced by local staff.

Build in the desert
Desert Sand and UHPC
By chance, we have heard of the worldwide
problems with the availability of construction
sand. Since we have been working with
nanoparticle products for more than 25
years, we were very sure that we could use
natural desert sand to produce concrete
with a very high quality. After a short time
we had made a UHPC binder which mixed
with desert sand and water reached a
strength of over 100 MPa after 28 days.
Today we are able to produce UHPC Binder
for desert sand for pumping, and casting
in any quantity.

Build in the desert
Application examples for UHPC desert
Airport
Desert sand + UHPC binder + water + asphalt
• Runways
Advantage
• Very high pressure resistance
• High wear resistance
• High temperature resistance
• Fast setting time
• Is very suitable for repairs of existing
surfaces
• Long lifetime
Desert sand + UHPC binder + water
• Parking areas
• Paths to the runways
• Streets
• Facades
• Building construction
• Hangar floors
• Floors of warehouses
Bridges
• Entire bridge construction
• Prefabricated products
• Foundation
Advantage
• Good wear resistant
• Is very suitable for repairs of existing
surfaces
• Long lifetime
Design
• Elegance, lightness, fineness, unique in small
as well as in large.
• Design elements can be produced in
geometries, material thicknesses, strengths
and longevity, as is impossible with concrete.
• All kind of surface extreme fine surface
structure are possible.
• There is also an infinite number of material
combinations with all imaginable materials.

Build in the desert
Harbor area
Desert sand + UHPC binder + asphalt
• Storage areas
• Streets
• Indoor flooring
• Quayside
• Jetties
• Pier
• Building construction
Advantage
• Very high pressure resistance
• High wear resistance
• Fast setting time
• Is very suitable for repairs of existing surfaces
• Long lifetime
• Floatable without large cavities
Offshore
• Corrosion protection
• Collision protection
• Static reinforcements
• Platform construction elements
Advantage
• Casting under water is possible
• Fast curing
• Seawater resistant
• High compressive strength
• High flexural strength

Build in the desert
Modern coastal protection
• Retaining walls
• Sheet pile walls
• Wharf protection construction
• Tsunami protection walls
Advantage
• Extremely durable and durable coastal
protection elements that adapt perfectly
to the local landscape.
• The rock elements are manufactured as
finished parts.
• High impact resistant
• High wear resistant
Roads and traffic routes
Desert sand + UHPC binder + water + asphalt
• In desolate and desert-like areas with extremely high temperature loads
Advantage
• Continuous temperature resistance up to
90°C without losing its high
compressive strength
• Good wear resistance
• Durable temperature resistance above
150°C without losing its extremely high
compressive strength
• Extremely good wear resistance
Onshore wind turbines
• Tower of prefabricated elements
• foundations
Advantage
• High early strength
• Very good processability
• High pressure resistance
• High bending / tensile strength
• low shrinkage
Since the beginning of wind turbine technology,
UHPC has been the preferred material for the
foundation of the towers

Build in the desert
Offshore wind turbines
• Differend foundation systems
• Transition piece
• Tower of prefabricated concrete
• elements
Advantage
• Casting under water is possible
• Fast curing
• High flexural strength
There is a very long experience of UHPC materials in
the windmill offshore industry in Europe. In all systems
UHPC is used in the transition pieces or in the different
foundation system.
Ships, housing complexes on the
water, artificial islands
• Ship Hull systems
• ship superstructures
• complete constructions
• pontoon systems without large cavities
• Floating islands
Advantages
• Absolute seawater resistance
• Extremely high corrosion resistance
• Extremely low weight
• High bending / tensile strengths
• frost resistant
• No filter systems necessary during
installation /spraying of UHPC
• Glass fiber or ceramic fiber mats serve
as reinforcement
• No steel in the UHPC hull thus no risk
of orrosion
• Due to high strength in the combination
of UHPC and ceramic fiber
reinforcement, very low weight

Build in the desert
Facades
Modern facades today have a variety of tasks
to fulfill.
In addition to metal, glass, marble and granite,
concrete is the most commonly used facade
material. the current and future façade
architecture wishes for new materials that
enable extraordinary geometries, while
achieving high strength at low board
thicknesses and also allowing elegant color
and surface structures.
All this is possible with UHPC and the decisive
advantage, however, is the much higher
environmental impact resistant and thus also a
much higher service life at a much lower
material cost.

Build in the desert
Precasting elements
Finished parts guarantee fast production and
assembly with consistent component quality.
With UHPC and desert sand, many components can
be reduced in wall thickness without losing
their strength and bearing capacity. The rapid
development of strength allows the components
to be removed from the mold much faster, which
leads to higher productivity and lower costs.
Very new design principles are possible because
the reinforcements can be packed more tightly
due to the extremely small grain size of the sand.
The surface quality is extremely accurate and
extremely fine structures can be achieved if the
mold has been manufactured to exactly the right
size.
Applications
• Panel members
• Support elements
• Special form elements
• Windmill tower element
• Pontoons
• Bridge elements
• Wall elements
• Ship hulls
• Designer items

Build in the desert
Sustainability and environmental friendliness
Conservation of the beaches,
seafront and riverside areas
Very low cement, energy and
water pollution for the production
of UHPC concrete
Reduction of sand and gravel
dredgings allover the world
Drastic elimination of the shipment
of sands
A drastic reduction of energy
expenditure for washing beach
sand
Poor countries with high deserts would have a lasting source of income
Arab countries can reduce energy consumption for drinking water treatment and thus
also reduce seawater salting
The drastic reduction of transport routes
means that an enormous amount of CO2 is
generated
A degradation of desert sand to no or only
extremely minor environmental damage as far
as known today

Build in the desert
Technical data sheet
UHPC Binder Desertsand
Processing as casting compound and as pumpable mass.
Delivery in 25kg paper bags, 1to bigbags or silo.
Renting or leasing a mobile production is possible.
Compressive Strength 70 MPa
measured after 28 days
Mixing ratio UHPC binder: Desert sand 40 : 60
Flexural Strength 10 MPa
measured after 28 days
Mixing ratio UHPC binder: Desert sand 40 : 60
Compressive Strength Flexural Strength

Build in the desert
Mixing manual
• Storage binder and sand material
• Both products must be stored dry.
• The minimum storage time is 1 year if the storage time is dry
• For the mixing of the products a pot mixer or a continuous
mixer of suitable quality is required.
• The mixers should be clean before mixing and have no
caking of other materials.
• The water needed to mix the products should be of
drinkable quality. Any kind of water pollution is to be
excluded.
• The first mixture should always be tested for flowability. If
there is insufficient flow, increase the amount of water in
small increments.
• First, the desert sand and then the binder in the correct
mixing ratio is filled in the mixer and then mixed for at least
3 minutes.
• Thereafter, the mixing water is added in a vigorous ratio
and mixed for at least 8 minutes. If after 8 minutes the
desired consistency is not reached, a small amount of water
can be added and mixed for another 3 minutes.
• Once the consistency is achieved, the molds can be potted with UHPC desert sand.
• The free surface should be protected against
too rapid drying depending on the ambient
temperature.
• After 24 hours, the casing can be removed
carefully.

Build in the desert
The new future of construction
UHPC - Ultra High Performance Concrete offers
architects and designers today a variety of novel
design option. The difference in the production of
UHPC and standard concrete elements can be
described as follows.
UHPC Compressive strength: 70 - 100 MPa
Standard concrete compressive strength: 10 -
80 MPa
UHPC flexural strength: 11 - 15 MPa
Standard Concrete flexural strength: 1 MPa-
5 MPa
The distance between steel reinforcement and concrete surface can be chosen very low, since
UHPC materials using aggregate with a grain size from 0 -3 mm .
UHPC materials have extreme little to no porosity.
In order to prevent corrosion of the reinforcement, a large cover must be selected by standard
concrete
UHPC materials achieve their strength without the use of gravel. Thus, the grain size of the
aggregate (sand) is much lower than standard concrete. The distances between the
reinforcing bars can be chosen to be much lower without the danger of voids being created
during casting.
Standard concrete requires a gravel surcharge. Due to the grain size of the gravel, the
reinforcing bars must be laid with a minimum distance.
The adhesion between UHPC materials and steel is several times higher than that of standard
concretes due to the almost 100% wetting of the steel surface.
Our UHPC Materials reach 70% of their nominal strength after less than 48 hours.

Build in the desert
Comparison between UHPC – UHPC Desert Sand –
Standard Concrete
Compressive strength development

The UHPC Desert Book

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