DeepC3000 – large corrosion-free pressure housing made of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for depths up to 3,000 m

Research output: Contribution to book/conference proceedings/anthology/reportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Marcus Hering - , Chair of Concrete Structures (Author)
  • Sebastian Wilhelm - , IBB Ingenieurbüro Baustatik Bautechnik (Author)
  • Manfred Curbach - , Chair of Concrete Structures (Author)
  • Heinrich Wasemann - , sudholt-wasemann GmbH (Author)
  • Martin Bergholz - , sudholt-wasemann GmbH (Author)
  • Frank Wenzhöfer - , Alfred Wegener Institute - Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (Author)
  • Lennard Frommhold - , Alfred Wegener Institute - Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (Author)
  • Elisabeth Schütze - , CARBOCON GmbH (Author)
  • Alexander Schumann - , CARBOCON GmbH (Author)

Abstract

In the DeepCsolution research project partners from industry and science are working on the development of innovative, non-corrosive high-pressure housings for marine applications. Here we present the new DeepC3000 pressure housing built from an ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) This special concrete has a strength of more than 150 MPa. The operating depth of the housing is up to 3000 m, the outer diameter is 750 mm and an inner volume is 265 dm³. The special feature of UHPC pressure housings is that they are corrosion-free, unlike steel and stainless-steel housings. There are already alternative pressure housings made of non-corrosive materials like titanium or ceramic. However, these alternative housings have two main disadvantages compared to UHPC: they are extremely complicated to manufacture and moreover very expensive to produce, especially for large volumes as presented here. In this paper, we describe the development and construction processes of the DeepC3000 housing with a rated depth of 3,000 m and provide first impressions of an application in marine research. We discuss how the idea became reality from the conceptual design to material testing, manufacturing, testing of the structural components and deployment in the deep sea. In addition, other applications of this newly developed pressure housing are discussed. One important design aspect of UHPC pressure housings was, that the tensile strength of the material is only a small fraction of the compressive strength. This affects the design of the pressure housing. On the one hand, a spherical and cylindrical shape was used, which has a very good material efficiency under external hydrostatic pressure. On the other hand, the pressure housing was designed to avoid geometric discontinuities as far as possible, or to make them as smooth as possible in order not to disturb the flow of force. To demonstrate the capabilities of the UHPC, several small and large housings were produced and tested. This includes small-scale experiments and real-scale structural tests in a pressure tank to measure the strains of the concrete on the inside of the housings resulting from the hydrostatic pressure, for example.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads Online Proceedings
EditorsIEEE
Number of pages7
ISBN (electronic)IEEE ISBN: 978-1-6654-6809-1
Publication statusPublished - 19 Dec 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

TitleOCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads
Abbreviated titleOCEANS 2022
Conference number
Duration17 - 20 October 2022
Website
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationVirginia Beach Convention Center
CityVirginia Beach
CountryUnited States of America

External IDs

Mendeley 925c9116-db38-3856-ad0a-bf831bfa7c07
Scopus 85145768282
ORCID /0000-0003-2440-5670/work/142236552
ORCID /0000-0002-1596-7164/work/142255648

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Keywords

  • Deep Sea, DeepC3000, UHPC, pressure housing