Engineering office

Ductal® is part of the BFUP family (Ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concretes). Numerous research projects have been carried out in different countries throughout the world on BFUPs, resulting in documents covering design recommendations and structural calculations. These recommendations have enabled benchmarking to be drawn up for validating BFUP 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 which enable conventional structures such as girders, columns and slabs built with Ductal® to be validated.
These may be reinforced, prestressed or without passive reinforcement.

In Japan, a similar document is currently being drafted by JSCE (Japan Society of Civil Engineering). The final document will be published at the end of 2004.

In Australia, a recommendation document focusing specifically on Ductal® was drawn up by UNSW (University of New South Wales) in 1999.

A working group of the FIB (International Federation for Structural Concrete) was also set up in May 2004. Made up of partners from various countries including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada, the US and Japan, the group’s aim is to draft a uniform recommendations document which will enable BFUP structures to be calculated.

Generally speaking, architectonic applications do not require calculation notes. These items are accepted by control and certification bureaus and bodies on validations that are often underpinned by tests.

In France, non-structural items have to be subjected either to a Technical Enquiry for which a certificate is issued by control bureaus, an ATEX (Technical Evaluation of Experimentation) or a Technical Assessment.

These two latter accreditations are issued by the Construction Science and Technique 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, 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 benchmark for future ATEXes, Technical Assessments and Technical Enquiries.