Hanson UK is launching a new high-performance concrete ideal for use by the power sector at this year’s Ecobuild event (March 07-09, Excel, London).
Powercrete®, developed by Hanson’s parent company HeidelbergCement in Europe, will be showcased on the company’s stand D129 within the Concrete and Masonry Pavilion.
It is a heat conducting concrete which helps to dissipate the heat generated by high-voltage and ultra high-voltage electrical cables with the same ease of placement as normal concrete. The product’s high thermal conductivity means it can be used as a bedding and infill material for underground high-voltage and ultra high-voltage cabling, helping to minimise transmission loss.
Powercrete® is the only product of its type available in the UK and its first application has been at Iver, Buckinghamshire, where 217 cubic metres was used to encase the 175 kilovolt cables which send power to Heathrow airport.
Concrete technical sales manager Jasen Gauld said: “Power cables are increasingly being run underground, generating energy savings and reducing the visual and environmental impact created by pylons. However, heat generation can be an issue with underground cable runs: as the cable temperature rises, so does the resistance, increasing transmission loss.
“Using Powercrete® allows you to increase power capacity, reduce conductor cross sectioning or switch to aluminium conductors. It also serves to reduce magnetic field strength for alternating current and mitigate hotspots.”
Powercrete® is a sustainable and long lasting solution and mixes can incorporate Regen GGBS (ground granulated blastfurnace slag), a by-product of the iron-making industry, used as a cement substitute to further improve the concrete’s sustainability credentials.
The consistency of Powercrete® can be adjusted to suit the application and Hanson’s cement and concrete specialists will work with clients and specifiers to maximise the performance of the mix − an approach currently being taken at Hornsea Project One, the world’s first gigawatt offshore windfarm.
