THE USE OF RPC IN CROSS-FLOW COOLING TOWERS By Gérard Birell -Jérdme DUGAT- Amaud BEKAERT ‘Synopsis A new ultra-high performance concrete called Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) has been developed by the Bouygues Group's Scientific Department. RPC 200 can be used for the construction of prestressed structures without any steel reinforcing. It has many advantages over conventional reinforced or prestressed heavy concrete structures especially in severe environment. Because of its properties, Blectricité de France (EDF) wanted to use this ‘material in the air-cooling towers of power plants, that are constantly in contact with water. Moreover, the improvement in the mechanical characteristics of concrete allows lighter structures and better foundation conditions. After a first experimental construction in the Chinon power plant, EDF restored the thermal exchange body supports of the Cattenom power plant, initially built of conventional concrete, by replacing them with RPC beams and joists. Bouygues Travaux Publics cast these elements in a precast plant dedicated to RPC. ‘The present paper describes the advantages of the use of RPC for EDF, the ‘Bouygues point of view on the RPC manufacture, and the lessons to be drawn, for the future projects Keywords : beams, durability, fibers, powders, precesting, prestressing, reactive powder concrete ultra high performances, workability. So.Gérard Bireli, is head of the Civil works section of the Engineering and construction Division (CNEPE) from Electrcité de France (EDF) Engineering Branch and is in charge of conventional part's design : turbine hall, cooling tower, pumping station. Jéréme DUGAT, Civil Engineer, graduated from the Ecole National des ‘Travaux Publics de I'Etat, is Director at the Scientific Department of Bouygues, in charge of the development of Reactive Powder Concrete. ‘Amand Bekaert, graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole [Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, is Site Manager at the Bouygues Public Work Division. ‘THE USE OF RPC IN CROSS-FLOW COOLING TOWERS 1 The contest, ‘The exchange body of cooling towers of Pressurized-Water Reactor (PWR) 900 MW and 1300 MW water pressurised reactor plant stations at the present time exhibits premature erosion of the suspended grill of exchange body ‘material which causes their collapse, a drop in performance of water cooling and therefore @ loss of power of the units. The economic implications are sizeable : a tenth of a degree in Kelvin’s costs 20 MF (4 000 000 USS) during the life-span of the unit. This phenomenon has been encountered on all cooling towers of the same technology. Since 1991 with ST LAURENT (2x PWR 900 MW on the River Loire) and then CHINON (4x PWR 900 MW on the River Vienne) EDF have perfected the replacement method, ‘This replacement consists of @ reinforcement of the metallic meshes, a modification in the fixing ofthe plastic slats and a division of the exchange body at a height of 20 metres into two parts one over the other. The top part is suspended from the hot-water basin as in the initial design and the lower part is suspended ftom an intermediate cross beam which rests on the foundations. Figures 1,2, 3 illustrate the new arrangement. ‘The cross beam is constructed from columns and beams in prestressed reinforced concrete. The atmosphere prevailing inside the exchange body is particularly severe, One part of the process is subjected to freezing and thawing during the winter encouraging the formation of ice and risks of spalling concrete, Otherwise part of the water-cooling circuit energy at ‘condensing is chemicaly treated: in the case of CATTENOM the unchanged water is naturally brackish which increases the chemical attack on the conerete, Such an environment requires the development of very particular coneretes.For this particular application, the design criteria used by EDF are derived fiom C.C.T.G [1] and from CS.7 [2] © Strength before and after thermal treatment ; © Characteristic strength at Feye = 180 MPa (28 day strength) ; © Resistance to direct tension, Fl 8 MPa and resistance post-peak, ov = 4MPa; © Resistance to freezing and thawing (the loss of strength should not be greater than 10% after 100 thermal cycles between -20°C and +20°C),, © Porosity of fibrous conerete should be less than 8% ; © Permeability in air: 10"%m?; = Minimum cover is greater than 3 cm by conservative measure ; © Quality of facing is as stated in clause n°3 of report n°24 of CIB in the region of the prestressed cables. ' The individual surface of bubbles is less than 0,3 cm; ' The depth of bubbles is iess than 2 mm. ‘An extra constraint is added at CATTENOM : the poor quality of the soil limits the loading carried by the new construction, In order to replace the ‘maximum amount of exchange body, it was necessary to avoid disturbing the existing foundation reinforcements with the shortest possible shut down time forthe unt, ‘The allowable overloading per column in the secondary structure is limited to 8 tons with an off-centring of 0.5 m, ADVANTAGE: ‘© RPC offers the opportunity to considerably reduce the thickness and size for a gain in mass which is particularly relevant in the case of CATTENOM. The following table compares the different performance solutions for @ beam ‘of length 14 m in B 30 in HPC and in RPC 180. ‘Type of concrete ‘einforeed | Prestressed | Prestressed | Prestressed B30_| Conerete | BHP80 | RPC 180 TLengih Ta mi @ 14 74 74 Height in m 105 Ta 035 0.707 oor 030 or) 040 Ost Efficiency = Extra Load per columa) 15a] 1325 Te 730 (Btmax.) ‘The use of RPC from the group of RPC 200 allows a gain of 47% in weight inrelation toa classic solution, “or‘© the ductility of this material with prestressed strands, avoids the use of passive reinforcement. Ths is not possible with classic HPC, © the compactness of this material contains by other respects very little water which is a condition of very good behaviour with regard to water attack and freezing and thawing, © the incorporation of metallic fibres achieves significant resistance in tension and reduces te risk of cracking, © the factory prefabrication of beams for CATTENOM lends itself well to this type of material where the fabrication requires careful surveillance, DISADVANTAGES: © RPC is a new material its frst industrial application forthe structures of EDF was a trial sample of cooling towers of CHINON in 1996. The level of experience at the time when the decision for CATTENOM was made was therefore relatively limited in terms of the durability of the material. ‘The experience acquired by EDF with HPC at the CIVAUX 1-2 and PENLY 3-4 power stations has allowed a positive decision to be made taking into account HPC. ‘© The massive use of admixtures remains a query on the long term behaviour as for most HPC, © The French reguiations are limited to 80 Mpa and should be extended now to 100 Mpa. The conditions of calculations inspired by BPEL and on the results of behavioural test achieved through the pilot scheme at CHINON, = RPC should undergo curing to attain its characteristics. This technique is used in industrial prefabrication through thermal curing or thermo- maturation, it is necessary in the case of RPC to follow its progress particularly carefully = The presence of fibres on the parts without formwork gives a rough finish Which is dangerous to handle, © Prestressing is necessary in order to use this material to its optimum. In quite an aggressive environment the quality of construction is particularly important: the conerete cover, the finish . ‘= There bas not been a crossing between 60 MPa and 180 Mpa. & Moreover, EDF has therefore chosen an RPC of 180 MPa in order to maintain margins due to the cost linked to shut-down of a nuclear power station 2. MIX-DESIGN The qualification tests for RPC have been carried out by EDF during the renovation of a cooling tower at CHINON power station in 1996, they have also carried out comprehensive tests to rupture of joists in bending. These tests have permitted EDF to write adapted requirements for this new ‘material for statutory study and feasibility tests based on a fabrication process ata concrete plant.‘These adaptations have principally taken into account a smaller range of tolerances and therefore a reduction in the variability of components and taken into account thermal treatment, ‘The requirements of EDF are indicated in tables | and 2 which recommend tests that should be carried out on different batches. BOUYGUES has proposed as a basic mixture, RPC 200, focusing on the ‘opportunity of preceding tests at CHINON, which led to choose components that allow placing by injection fom a pump or a pressure tank. Composition of RPC CER] Siiae | Crked| une Se | ATE] Toad cement | Pure | quan | ‘tnd | [Damm | Sipelaizer | water -zasone | @10um |@300ym| 200 um | (ay ea). [Compaen | Ta] ats | oat | 1) ora [ ‘After the study test (table2) carried out atthe Scientific Direction Laboratory of BOUYGUES, this mixture was used forthe statutory feasibility test carried ut on a power station production plant adapted for the fabrication of specialist concretes, notably from tho point of view of precision of determination of mass and powder-ransport systems ‘The statutory feasibility test (table 2) allows the improvement ofthe mixing procedure and casting of beams and joists, in particular to avoid surface bubbles in accordance with EDF requirements (1) 3, MANUFACTURE, 1 Site History ‘The prefabrication site of RPC elements has been installed on the BOUYGUES Technical Base therefore benefiting from sufficient infrastructure and industrial adaptations adjusted for this particular material Installation work on site started in April 1997 and continued for a period of 3 months. The BOUYGUES Public works team have constructed from scratch prestressing benches 60m long allowing the installation of 40 metallic formworks, as well as 3 steaming chambers dedicated to thermal treatment assuring the treatment of 80 RPC elements atthe same time. During the same Period, the Public Works Material Service have modified the storage capacity of the concrete plant and installed a steam production station for thermal treatment. The last formwork arrived on site mid-July 1997 At te beginning of September 1997 the site teams started the 100 pieces per week production cycle. The prefabrication of RPC elements destined for the three first air coolers at Cattenom reached completion at the end of March 1998, “S°1.2 Specific site techniques RPC beams and joists are prestressed by pretensioned strands, The tensioning of T15 strands prior to casting induces 250t of compression in the ‘beams prestressing benches and 40 in the joist prestressing benches. ‘The formwork is completely separated from the prestressing benches in order to avoid restraints through the strands. Particular care has been taken to achieve leak tightess, made vital through the absence of large aggregate and the fluidity of RPC. ‘The formwork has been thermally insulated and heated to allow an accelerated maturation of RPC. ‘The prestressing of RPC elements by de-tensioning of strands is carried out 40 hours after concrete placing. This allows daily concreting, due to the two sets of formwork So as to improve the compactness of the material and the surface appearance, placing is helped by a mobile pump covering all the precast field - (igure 4). After the de-tensonng of he strands, the elements are cared! o on ofthe Steaming chamber in order to undergo a thermomaturation of 48 hous at 50°C Gigure 3) “The elements are then packed, marked, andthe ends covered in epoxy resin to scat the stands fom the aggressiveness of the water at CaTenom gure 6). 4. QUALITY CONTROL, Quality control of a product begins at the delivery of materials. Suppliers complied with the requirements of the contractor to ensure perfect regularity of the materials. All the components are subjected to a double delivery test before leaving the plant and at delivery on the site. A control of quantities of ingredients and a control of the power developed by the mixer are also carried out in order to avoid all deviation and eventual degradation of RPC. Each day of concreting, samples are taken which follow the elements through the entire maturation cycle and thermal treatment, bending and compression tests are carried out by the BOUYGUES laboratory. ‘So as to assure the good development of RPC after casting, the temperature of the formwork, of the RPC and of the steaming chamber are recorded. Also, the pressure for the strands tensioning and their elongation before casting are also recorded. This allows a precise historical record of each element. Before transport to Cattenom, the beams and joists are checked another time in terms of geometric conformity, facing and application of the epoxy for protection of the strands. Shah 1996‘The results ofthe control are With thermal reatment: 225 MPa average in compression = With thermal treatment: 40 MPa average in flexure ‘= Without thermal treatment : 25 MPa average in flexure before prestressing ~ Without thermal treatment : 183 MPa average at 28 days in compression This table shows a characteristic strength of 200 Mpa, far above the required 180 Mpa specification, in spite ofa greater standard deviation than which was expected. 11 is possible to achieve 170 MPa at 28 days without thermal treatment : an ‘optimization of the cross section of the beams, but also of the RPC formulation will allowed to plan manufacture without thermal treatment, ‘$, POST EXPERIENCE S.L The point of view ofthe contractor 5.1.1 The manufacture of beams and joists for Cattenom power station proved the industrial feasibility of RPC elements with classic mixing and placing methods. G With precise specifications for the components Q With a stricter industria manufacturing method than for classic concrete Q With appropriate previous studies : the role of statutory feasibility test is ‘more important than in the case of classic concrete, as the definitive adaptation of the mixture from 2 theological point of view, depends more ‘onthe method of placing and of the formworks shape, Q With an adapted quality assurance ‘in terms of following up of temperature, notably through the use ‘of maturity measurement + in terms of thorough control of materials butalso ‘im terms ofthe identification of materials and rapid measurement on the batches based on the workability tests Generally speaking, workability is a good witness of the requirements mixture compliance. 3.1.2 The manufacture of beams and joists has also allowed to envisage better design of structures adapted to RPC , therefore more efficient, Me.‘5.2.The point of view of the designer and owner ‘The renovation of the cooling towers constitutes for EDF an opportunity to prepare for the construction of power stations in the next 20 years (PWR 2000 from 1860 MW) which will replace the present units from the year 2000 and offer opportunities to contractors on an industrial scale with regard to acquiring expertise in this field, The repair of the cooling towers at CATTENOM has allowed the making of fibre reinforced and very high performance concrete such as RPC, outside the laboratory, and to demonstrate their industrial feasibility, ‘The mass production of 270 beams 14 m in length, and 2376 joists at 6 m represents 1000 m’ of RPC which today constitutes @ data base that can be exploited to establish adapted design and manufacturing rues for this new material In effect, it appears that i The results of creep and shrinkage tests allows some reduction ofthe limits taken into account at the start ofthe project. This should therefore lead to a reduction of the prestressing D The geometry of elements of the structure should be reviewed and ‘optimized because the exploitation of characteristics of these materials, leads to unusual geometric forms for engineers. GI Each time there is a geometric reduction in design it should be coupled with higher vigilance and a reduction of construction tolerances (Positioning of prestressing, geometry and rigidity of the formworks) The process of fabrication of samples influences the results because there are more fibres parallel rather than diametrc to the formwork O The contro! processes for usual characteristics during the manufacturing should be adapted to this new generation of materials principally due to > the positioning of eylinders under the press ; > the surfacing of samples ; > the parallelism of the press plates, induce significant secondary ‘moments and erors. ‘The reduced dimensions of the samples adds to the dispersion of the results. Also the statistical analysis of fabrication contol results should be carried out very carefully The thermal treatment at 90°C in a humid atmosphere makes difficult the in situ casting of RPC 200, but the results of the control show that it is possible to envisage construction without thermal treatment up to 170 MPa.[New steps for new materials RPC permits the development of other new applications, withthe reduction or even the elimination of reinforcement laying, time savings on the construction of structures as well as improved safety for site workers, REFERENCES {1C.C-TG - Cahier des Clauses Techniques Générales applicables aux travaux de Gros Oeuvre. Document EDF. [2]CST - Cahier des Spévifications Techniques applicables aux aéroréfrigérants. Document EDF. [3] PRichard, M.Cheyrezy : "Reactive Powder Concrete with High Ductlity and 200-800 MPa Compressive Strength’ in Concrete Technology, Past, Present, and Future (Proceedings of the V.Mohan Malhoha Symposium, PKumar Mehta, editor), ACI SP 144, 1994, pp $07,518 orLIST OF TABLES & FIGURES Table 1: Laboratory study ‘Table 2: Statutory feasibility test on produetion site Figure 1: Cooling tower Figure 2 Cooling volume : cross beams to sustain the exchange body Figure 3: Intermediate cross beam Figure 4: View of precast aca Figure 5 : Camying the beams into a steaming chamber Figure 6 : Beams after heat treatment Sata 1998ote ra ep pon 20 vi eee) sop x oto 2 ‘SHHOLVA ANAWALAIG NO SLSAL 40 STEVE AQAS AYOLVAOAVT Shas 1998‘STATUTATORY FEASIBILITY TEST ON PRODUCTION SITE, ‘Test cared ou on each batches are indicated inthe table below ‘Type of test oe Teese ae @ 5 Decenicenprartvian | Oy 7 Dicrai aa o Desiy Fooayaee | CERT 2) wine opt ating NFP NH Sn 6 ou PA Seddon WL ble2 otFig. 2: Cooling volume : eross beams to sustain the exchange bodyFig. 5: Camrying the beams into a steaming chamber ad 90Fig. 6: Beams after heat treatment habe 1996 TS