Ductilcrete Experience

[Dazed_and_Confused]

Has anyone had any experience with Ductilcrete?

We are not the EOR but came in on a large tilt-up facility where there has been some big issues with slab differential movement on a ductilcrete slab. No reinforcement was used and no dowels appear to be used at construction joints. It just looks like sawcuts were made at the column grid spacing. Contractor didn't appear to dowel the slab into the wall at all either. Looks pretty though...


Just curious what others know as I can't find anything other than sales brochures online.

Thanks! First Post!

 

[BAretired]

Differential movements probably have more to do with the type of soil under the slab than the Ductilcrete.

BA

 

[Dazed_and_Confused]

I agree, really what I am after is some information on the design process (It is design build) since there is no steel reinforcing or construction joints. The ductile crete system appears to be a polymer modified flexible topping slab over a conventional unreinforced concrete yet somehow the total depth of slab is supposed to be thinner than conventional slabs.

 

[phamENG]

I tried searching for it online, and it seems they're holding it pretty close to the vest. Best bet would probably be to have your client hire one of ductilicrete's licensed installers to assess it with you named as their representative for technical oversight, inspections, etc. The contractor and ductilicrete guys probably won't like it, but it may be your best bet to learn more. Either that, or take a core drill out there and start taking it apart to see what it's made of.

 

[Dazed_and_Confused]

Thanks phamENG. That is the path we are headed down.

 

[phamENG]

If you can, please come back and post about your experience so we can all have some insight into this product.

 

[Dazed_and_Confused]

Here is more info for anyone interested:

It is essentially a patented proprietary product exactly as guessed above.

From their website:

DUCTILCRETE® HB100 is a patented dual-layer engineered system for concrete slabs based on the Heidebed® technology and method. It is specifically designed for tilt-up construction where the two layers are placed in separate pours. The entire bottom part of the slab can be installed quickly providing a surface for ongoing construction. The top layer is typically placed after the walls and roof have been installed, which allows for a superior slab finish, eliminating the need for repairs of the bottom course. The DUCTILCRETE® HB100 system results in high performance, flat concrete slabs with column line joint spacing, superior finish without the residual effects of tilt-up construction, increased load carrying capacity, and reduced maintenance while improving construction schedules when compared to traditional slab construction systems.

This "Heidebed" technology is patented (US Patent Nos. 9,828,768 and 9,926,701.)

Link

The slabs have no reinforcing. From what I understand an initial slab is poured and purposely allowed to crack during the construction of the rest of the building. Then the slab is coated in a polymer coating (to prevent bonding?) and a final topping slab is poured which is impregnated with "stretchable" polymer fibers.

You be the judge. Speaking with a large local (Dallas) contractor they have not had good results in texas with our expansive soils. I would have imagined this was the case due to lack of tensile reinforcement.