Why use Ductal®?

Why is Ductal^® substantially more durable than conventional concrete? Thanks to its discontinuous pore structure and crack-bridging fibers, it is virtually impervious. Penetration of chloride ions is significantly reduced, as proven by our ASTM C1202 test result, which classifies the chloride ion penetrability of Ductal^® as “negligible”. For this reason, Ductal^® performs exceptionally well in highly corrosive environments and is ideal for your marina or port projects.

If you’re building wastewater treatment facilities or sanitary sewer lines, resistance to chemical attack is essential. Ductal^® remains extremely durable even when continuously exposed to a range of harmful chemicals. Conditions such as sulfate exposure, carbonation penetration and alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) have shown no harmful effect to this material. This makes Ductal^® an ideal solution for any type of project where sanitary conditions are an ongoing challenge.

If your next project needs to withstand sub-zero temperatures or significant thermal variations, then Ductal^® is an ideal solution. It exhibits almost zero surface scaling and extremely high freeze-thaw resistance, even when exposed to deicing chemicals. This is due to its impenetrable nature which prevents air or water from entering the concrete matrix. This makes it well-suited for roadways and bridge overlays, especially in colder climates where deicing salts are commonly used.

In addition to chemical and freeze-thaw resistance, Ductal^® is also one step above conventional concretes in terms of abrasion resistance, thanks to its dense particle-packing matrix. This is proven by test results from ASTM C944 which clearly show Ductal^®'s superiority, even when the test load is doubled. Ductal^® performs so well even in roadways with high average daily traffic or in hydraulic spillways subject to constant water flow erosion. This abrasion resistance is coupled with good resistance to impact thanks to the use of fibers. The fiber and cementitious mix combine to make Ductal^® one of the rare materials to respond to both abrasion and impact resistance.

Working on designing a sensitive building or piece of infrastructure? Thanks to its superior qualities of durability and ductility Ductal^® offers good blast and impact resistance, making it perfect for panels and components designed to perform under explosive impact or shock loads. Its toughness and high energy absorption capacity ensures it will be at home used on the most important assets.

Its use of metallic or stainless steel fibers along with its unique matrix properties and lack of spalling ensure that Ductal^® is extremely resistant to heat and fire.
As a result of the addition of polypropylene fibers, Ductal^® answers to its main weakness in the event of fire: the spalling of UHPC. Under fire conditions, the polypropylene fibers melt and create chimneys to allow the dissipation of water vapor stuck in the UHPC structure.

Due to its optimized particle-packing matrix, Ductal^® is more than six times stronger than conventional concrete, offering compressive strengths up to 207 MPa (30,000 psi). Its exceptional strength and ductility allows you to optimize your designs by reducing the size and number of structural elements required to achieve your design objectives. In applications where aesthetics or weight is a driving factor, Ductal^® offers you a win-win solution.

In addition, Ductal^® can generate high compressive strengths in a very short period of time. For instance, one of our solutions from our current product line can achieve a compressive strength of 83 MPa (12,000 psi) in as little as 12 hours after casting. If you need to expedite the delivery of the final product, such as in an accelerated bridge construction (ABC) project, Ductal^® once again rises to the challenge.

Ductal^® derives its name from the exceptional ductility that it possesses. Fiber reinforcement throughout its cementitious matrix gives Ductal® superior tensile strength compared to conventional concretes and protects it against brittle and sudden failure. This makes Ductal^® ideal in applications requiring extensive energy dissipation such as certain seismic applications and for blast/impact protection uses:

• Reduces the overall magnitude (and consequent damage) of seismically imposed loads in the structure.
• Works exceptionally well as a confining layer to strengthen existing structural members.