Product Role: Protective and durability UHPC grouts are specialty ultra-high performance concrete mixtures designed to address specific durability threats in infrastructure. Their primary role is to act as both a structural repair material and a protective barrier in environments that traditionally cause rapid deterioration of ordinary concrete. These UHPC grouts can be applied as overlays, patch materials, or jacketing mortars on existing structures, imparting properties like corrosion inhibition, freeze-thaw resistance, or extreme abrasion resistance to the repaired areas. In essence, they serve as “armor” for concrete and steel substrates: for example, safeguarding a pier in saltwater from rebar corrosion, or lining a spillway channel to prevent erosion. By using UHPC technology as the basis, these grouts ensure that the protective layer is not just superficially resistant but also structurally contributing (thanks to high fiber-reinforced strength and bonding).

Application Challenges: Different aggressive conditions pose unique challenges: Coastal and marine structures are plagued by chloride ingress and steel corrosion, cold-region structures suffer from freeze-thaw cracking and scaling, and industrial or hydraulic structures endure abrasion and impact that wear away normal concrete. Traditional repair materials might tackle one issue at a time (e.g., a polymer coating for corrosion or a surface hardener for abrasion), but they often lack structural integration or long-term compatibility with concrete. Moreover, applying separate protective coatings can be time-consuming and may not achieve the necessary bond or strength. The challenge is to provide a solution that restores structural integrity and also dramatically improves durability against the specific environmental stressor. ZRETE’s UHPC durability grouts address this by integrating protection into the concrete matrix itself. The Anti-Corrosion UHPC Grout, for instance, is formulated with extremely low permeability and possibly corrosion-inhibiting admixtures, directly tackling the issue of chloride and chemical penetration. It is designed to be used in places like seawall repairs, port structures, or bridge columns exposed to deicing salts. A key challenge in those environments is maintaining bond under wet conditions and thermal cycles – UHPC’s fine matrix and fiber content ensure a secure bond and crack-free performance, preventing pathways for corrosives to reach the rebar. In freezing climates, the Freeze-Thaw Resistant UHPC Grout must cope with water expansion in pores at sub-zero temperatures; it is engineered to have a very dense microstructure and air-void system that relieves hydraulic pressure, thus surviving hundreds of freeze-thaw cycles without scaling. Applying repairs in cold weather is also a challenge that this grout can handle, as UHPC’s chemistry can be adjusted for low-temperature curing without sacrificing quality. For areas with heavy abrasion (like factory floors, canals, or columns in fast-flowing water), normal high-strength concrete quickly wears down. The Abrasion-Resistant UHPC Grout includes hard aggregates and a high-strength binder that significantly outperform traditional repair mortars under mechanical wear. The challenge of ensuring such a hard material doesn’t become brittle is met by UHPC’s fiber reinforcement, which preserves toughness. All these grouts also share general application challenges like achieving good workability and sprayability (many are applied via shotcrete methods); ZRETE has fine-tuned the rheology so they can be placed or sprayed effectively while still developing their protective properties uniformly.

Product Performance: Each protective UHPC grout variant offers target performance that directly translates to extended service life of structures:

• The CBGM-SHOTCRETE Anti-Corrosion Grout provides a superb shield in chloride-rich or chemically aggressive environments. It achieves ≥100 MPa compressive strength with extremely low chloride ion penetration rates. In practice, a repair jacket of this UHPC around a corroding column halts further rust by both blocking new chloride ingress and restoring alkaline conditions around the steel. Its fiber reinforcement and strong bonding capacity also revive the element’s structural capacity. Even after years of tidal exposure or salt spray, this grout shows negligible loss of integrity – a testament to UHPC’s ability to protect rebar far better than conventional repair concretes.

• The Freeze-Thaw Grout exhibits durable performance in cold climates, retaining over 90% of its strength after 300 or more freeze-thaw cycles (a level of resilience ordinary concrete cannot match). This means that a bridge deck or balcony repaired with this material will not suffer the usual cycle of cracking and surface spalling every winter. Its low water absorption prevents ice formation inside the concrete, and any micro-cracks that might start are arrested by the steel fibers. Thus, structures in alpine or arctic conditions can go through many winters with minimal degradation.

• The Abrasion-Resistant UHPC Grout shows impressive results where surface wear is a concern. With compressive strength well above 100 MPa and a densely packed matrix, it resists gouging and erosion significantly better – independent tests and field usage indicate dramatically lower material loss when subjected to abrasion or high-flow water with sediments. For example, when lining a spillway or repairing a dam stilling basin, this grout can withstand constant water turbulence and sediment impact, reducing the need for frequent patch-ups. Likewise, in industrial floors subject to heavy machinery traffic, the UHPC surface remains intact far longer, improving safety and reducing downtime for maintenance.

Crucially, all these UHPC grouts not only protect but also strengthen. They adhere monolithically to the existing structure, effectively becoming a new outer layer that bears loads and seals out deleterious elements. The result is a composite section that is both stronger and more durable. This dual benefit – structural enhancement and longevity – underscores the value proposition of UHPC protective grouts: infrastructure repaired with these materials is equipped to face extreme conditions for decades, significantly lowering life-cycle costs.

Product Matrix:
CBGM-SHOTCRETE Anti-Corrosion Grout  CBGM-SHOTCRETE Freeze-Thaw Grout  CBGM-SHOTCRETE Abrasion-Resistant Grout