Following the painful defeat of the Spanish Armada by the British, Felipe II expressed his disappointment in historic words. In a way, the development of architecture and infrastructure must fulfill a mission diametrically opposed to that of the Spanish king. So they have to fight the elements. The challenge is to develop materials and techniques that can guarantee durable construction. This challenge is especially pressing at a time when much construction is taking place in locations with extreme weather conditions, such as offshore wind farms and exploration in the Arctic, where power generation is often the primary objective. Building and maintaining in such harsh conditions can be very costly. Therefore, the development of new highly resistant materials has become an important issue. This is where a new type of concrete, LORCENIS, named after a Norse god, or long-lasting reinforced concrete for energy infrastructure under harsh operating conditions, comes into play.
An international consortium of 16 partners has been formed. In addition to his three universities and six research centers in Europe, the group includes large companies such as ACCIONA, SIKA, KVAERNER, VATTENFALL y DYCKERHOFF, and medium-sized companies such as Smallmatek and ChemStream, which are developing new smart materials. We have a pool of know-how related to the development of Designed to withstand the most difficult conditions. Thanks to their properties, these materials are able to meet their difficult challenges. They are self-healing and self-curing and can provide structural self-diagnosis and protection against corrosion. These are some of the conditions this concrete has to face.
- Temperature extremes: Extreme heat and extreme cold, such as arctic and desert regions, and concentrator photovoltaic (CSP) plants reaching temperatures above 400 °C.
- mechanical fatigue: high seas waves, or vibrations. Offshore wind farms are one example.
- corrosion: Locations such as sea salt and refrigeration towers, acidic environments in nuclear power plants, biogas plants and industrial ports.
LORCENIS UNIQUE FEATURES
But what exactly is the difference between Lorcenis and conventional concrete? self-diagnosis ability. By using networks of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers with enhanced electrical conductivity, it is possible to accurately determine their actual conditions.You can also fight the first crack using self-healing A system based on elastomers and hydrogels with compressive technology for its structure.Third, it is self curing Material that prevents shrinkage. Finally, we use specific anti-corrosion additives to provide additional protection.
All these factors combine to create a new kind of concrete that doubles the durability of conventional concrete, increases resistance to temperature extremes by up to 50%, and reduces chloride ingress by the same amount. Additionally, maintenance costs are reduced by 25% to 100%, depending on the environment.
LORCENIS is currently in the middle of the development process, taking two years over an estimated four-year period. A lab research phase is about to be completed in which each member of the consortium will manage a specific area. ACCIONA then undertakes the task of demonstrating the reality of 100% increased lifespan by leading industrial scaling tasks with other industrial partners and manufacturing monitored prototypes. Such prototypes consist of reinforced concrete structures designed within the project and are proven to perform well under extreme operating conditions. Some of these structures become components for power generation such as refrigeration towers and offshore wind farms. Another important goal of this project is the development of basic computer software to analyze and simulate concrete behavior and accurately predict its durability.
In an increasingly power-hungry world where most of the power is generated by tidal, wind and solar power systems, technologically advanced materials like LORCENIS will play a truly important role. .
Fuente: Sintef
