Cor-Tuf, the company that produces the only contractor-friendly, economical ultra-high-performance concrete, is successfully mixing its CT-25 UHPC in industry-standard ready-mix trucks, which can then transport the mix to the pouring location. The company recently demonstrated this ability by mixing and pouring three decorative blast-resistant panels that will last hundreds of years. This is an industry first.
The CT-25 product can be mixed in a ready-mix truck for mobile delivery directly into an on-site form, pump, or other distribution method.
Further cost savings come from “your sand, your cement, our UHPC.” The company’s UHPC concrete mix is about half the cost of mixes offered by other UHPC manufacturers, due in part to the fact that any contractor or cement company can use their own sand and cement, and only need to add the proprietary Cor-Tuf UHPC mix to produce a batch.
Significant time savings
In the Cor-Tuf UHPC ready-mix demonstration this month at Rockingham Precast, in Rockingham, Virginia, the company produced three blast-proof UHPC panels with a stone-wall facade, using a ready-mix truck to mix and transport the concrete. Three cubic yards of the CT-25 material were used to create the panels. The CT-25 blend, steel fibers, sand, and water were loaded into the truck and combined. The panels were poured into the forms with an even distribution. The fully mixed CT-25 mixture had an ambient temperature of 88 degrees and had a slump test spread of 8 inches by 8 inches.
It only took 8.5 minutes to mix the materials in the truck, a significant improvement over other UHPC mixtures, which can take 45 minutes to an hour to mix, adding unnecessary delays to any project.
In addition to pouring the test panels, Cor-Tuf also sent three, 3-inch by 6-inch cylinders for testing to Dura-Stress in Leesburg, Florida, where the samples were tested in accordance with ASTM-certified1856-M17 standards. The samples had an average compressive strength of 17,470 PSI after curing for 13 days, which is significant when one considers that traditional concrete takes 28 days to reach its top compressive strength, and even then, that strength tops out at 5,000 psi. Cor-Tuf UHPC can attain compressive strength as high as 50,000 psi.
“Over the years, we’ve heard the criticisms that UHPC is difficult and too expensive,” says Doug Darling, founder and chairman of Cor-Tuf. “Contractors have understandably balked at the cost of UHPC and the high learning curve. We have solved both of these problems with our UHPC solutions. No other manufacturer can deliver the same ease of use and ASTM-certified results at a competitive price.”
