High performance fibers take the weight for Al Zahid

The challenge

The external yard pavement would not only have to be durable in the challenging Saudi climate, but also able to withstand heavy equipment loads – e.g. an 80-tonne Caterpillar D10 dozer. It was necessary to convince owner and contractor that the proposed solution was appropriate in a harsh external environment. Speed of execution, and low future maintenance costs, were also considerations.

The solution

The proposed solution was a jointless floor using Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC). Such outdoor pavements are tricky to design and hard to control in execution. Bekaert and Twintec collaborated closely to devise and implement a solution that would meet the client’s full requirements.

By specifying Dramix® 4D 80/60BG high performance steel fibers, with their tensile strength of over 1,800 MPa and superior anchorage, it was possible to build a floor of just 220 mm thick that met the loading case, with only 20 kg of fiber per cubic meter of mix. The SFRC approach significantly reduced casting time and the jointless design ensures a more durable solution with minimal future maintenance needs and thus a lower overall total cost of ownership.