What modern high-performance binders are able to do
When it comes to innovations, high-performance binders have to be mentioned primarily, such as Dyckerhoff Flowstone, for example. They have especially been developed for manufacturing top quality concrete products. Concretes manufactured on the basis of such binders can have a water/cement ratio of between 0.29 and 0.35 in order to achieve a flexural tensile strength of up to 15 MPa and a compressive strength of more than 100 MPa. This, in particular, allows the production of slender, filigree and durable building components, which provide the necessary sturdiness especially for outdoor applications and thus for garden and landscape construction purposes. These are products that are characterized by a strong edge stability and strong durability properties, such as a high frost and de-icing salt resistance, low porosity with the result of a reduced tendency to soiling and a long life cycle. Furthermore, there is a wide range of various surfaces and coloring options, which may be obtained by natural aggregates as well as the addition of color pigments.
It is thus possible to realize significantly smaller slab thicknesses, in particular, for precast concrete slabs used in garden and landscape construction, owing to the higher flexural tensile strength as against conventional production methods. Thinner and more filigree building components, however, do not only offer advantages in terms of the visual appearance, but lower weight and reduced installation heights provide for entirely new freedom of design and possible applications both in garden and landscape construction and in urban development.
