Architect

Ductal® is a part of the Ultra High Performance Fiber-reinforced Concretes (UHPC). Numerous research projects have been carried out in various countries on UHPC, resulting in published papers covering design recommendations and structural calculations. These recommendations have enabled benchmarking to be drawn up for validating UHPC structures.

In France, an AFGC/SETRA document was published in January 2002. Validated by various control bodies , these recommendations are adaptations of BAEL and BPEL calculation rules that enable conventional structures such as girders, columns and slabs built with Ductal® to be validated. These may be reinforced, prestressed or eliminate passive reinforcement.

The Japan Society of Civiel Engineering (JSCE) is currently drafting a similar document and it’s expected to be published by the end of 2004. In Australia, a document focusing specifically on
Ductal® was drawn up by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1999.

A working group of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (FIB) was organized in May 2004. The FIB is made up of partners from various countries including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada, the United States and Japan. The group’s goal is to draft a uniform recommendations document that will enable UHPC structures to be calculated.

Generally speaking, architectural applications do not require calculation notes.
These are typically accepted by control and certification organizations on validations that are often underpinned by tests.

In France, non-structural items have to be subjected to either a technical enquiry or technical assessment and then a certificate is issued by control bureaus, a Technical Evaluation of Experimentation (ATEX).. These two latter accreditations are issued by the Construction Science and Technical Center (CSTB).

ATEX procedures and technical enquiries have been used on several Ductal® projects (sanitary cell units, bamboo pots and railings in the Flower Tower of the Asnières Business Park, sunshade slats for the Claude Bernard University in Lyon and cross-beams of the Felix Landreau middle school in Angers).

In order to speed up and simplify these administrative procedures, a technical assessment of Ductal®-FO is currently being carried out at the CSTB which will provide all the replies regarding the material set out in a single certified document that will serve as a benchmark for future technical