The world’s first precast ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) overpass was completed at Beichen Delta, Changsha on Jan. 8. It was precast at factory and pieced together on the site within 10 hours. Nie Jianguo and Chen Zhengqing, academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and several senior civil engineers witnessed this successful industrialized application of such UHPC.

Made from ultra-high-strength and ductile RNIC materials, such UHPC has a compressive strength of 400 MPa, highest in the world, said Nie.

Such UHPC is ultra-light, reducing nearly 30% weight in the bridge superstructure. The whole 70.8-meter-long overpass with a main span of 36.8 meters is supported by only two piers, at least three less than a regular concrete one, according to Prof. Fang Zhi from Hunan University, also the designer and technical manager of the overpass project.

Changsha, even Hunan Province, will give priority to developing UHPC industry, to boost its application in industrial sectors and civil-use products, said manager of the Changsha Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development. The output value is anticipated to hit 10 billion yuan in 2020.