Once again, Lafarge is innovating in concrete and has
announced the launching of a new range of insulating ready-mix concretes: Thermedia™.
The Group has brought its scientific expertise and associated its know-how with
that of Bouygues Construction to develop and test this first new product in France: Thermedia 0.6 B. This concrete,
intended for building envelope applications, represents an initial response to
the demand for improved energy efficiency in buildings. Indeed, it introduces a
new performance feature to concrete in construction systems conforming with the
guidelines of the French Grenelle Environment Forum.
Thermedia 0.6 B is the product of four years of research in Lafarge's
laboratories and, thanks to the partnership with Bouygues Construction, it has
been possible to quickly deploy Thermedia 0.6 B in several social housing sites
where the behavior of the material in the structure was observed and analyzed
and its efficiency ensured.
Thermedia 0.6 B is made for the French market and
meets an environmental and financial requirement. This concrete actively improves construction
systems that integrate interior thermal insulation (ITI) by contributing to
heat loss reductions through the building's envelope. This now affects 90% of apartment
blocks built in France.
Thermedia 0.6 B: a technological feat for
concrete with novel properties
Thermedia 0.6 B is a genuine
scientific and technological feat. It is the only structural ready-mix concrete
today capable of combining strength and lightness, mechanical performances and
thermal properties. Thermedia 0.6 B's specific mix design, patented by Lafarge,
divides its thermal conductivity by three compared to a standard concrete; this
significantly limits heat losses in buildings.
Therefore, in cases of interior
thermal insulation, this new concrete reduces the impact between building
facades and intermediate floor by 35% in terms of thermal bridges. These results are
the fruit of Lafarge's research laboratory that has worked on a novel
concrete mix design resulting in a product 40% less dense than a standard
concrete.
Thermedia 0.6 B is produced at a batching plant and then cast on-site; it
requires no changes of building methods. Its fluidity and very good workability
make it a material that is easy to use in traditional construction methods. Its
intrinsic properties (mechanical, durability and shrinkage, as well as its fire
behavior, acoustics and seismic strength) have already been tested and
certified conforming with the NF EN 206-1 standard.
A
partnership of skills
The common goal
between Lafarge and Bouygues Construction is to innovate to improve energy
efficiency in buildings. The French Grenelle Environment Forum and the
implementation of more advanced thermal regulations is a current social-economic
context that encourages manufacturers to provide solutions promoting energy
savings. These two companies joined forces in this common goal and developed Thermedia 0.6 B.
Each partner brought
its own skills at each stage of the project:
- Lafarge mobilized a team of approximately 20 researchers
to determine the mix design, providing the ideal balance between the thermal
and structural requirements, then testing it in the laboratory and validating
the properties of the material;
- Bouygues Construction carried out building
engineering studies, did the implementation tests, as well as the acceptance
tests for all its characteristics.
A few years ago already,
the ultra high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete, Ductal®, was launched;
the successful outcome of an initial partnership between the two manufacturers.
Concrete:
a material with endless properties
Concrete is the second product most consumed
in the world. It is a mixture of cement, crushed stone (aggregates) and sand,
to which water is added. This material, first designed and developed in the
first century BC, has many qualities, notably in terms of strengths,
durability, thermal inertia and sound insulation. The techniques and equipment
developed over the past twenty years are at the origin of today's scientific comprehension
at the nanoscale. This has revealed the high-tech nature of concrete in many
respects.
Hence, Lafarge can meet the increasingly
complex requirements of its customers by developing concretes with improved
aesthetics and easier implementation procedures.
Additional information
More about
Lafarge
Lafarge is the
world leader in construction materials and has a leading market position in all
its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. The Group employs
over 84,000 persons in 79 countries; its turnover in 2008 was €19 billion.
In 2009, Lafarge
was again on the list of the 100 most committed multinationals to sustainable
development, for the fifth consecutive year. Equipped with the first research
center for construction materials in the world, innovation is at the heart of
Lafarge's business considerations, working for the benefit of sustainable
construction and architectural creativity.
More about Bouygues
Construction
Bouygues Construction is a world leader with high-ranking
market positions in construction, public works and electricity/maintenance. It
combines the power of a major group and the reactivity of a network of local
businesses to provide their customers with innovating solutions in terms of the
production, design, operations, maintenance and financing of structures and
infrastructures. Bouygues Construction employs 53,700
persons in 60
countries; its turnover in
2008 was €9.5 billion.
