[Asia Economy Reporter Inho Yoo] The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology announced on the 4th that Dr. Kim Byung-seok's "200-Year Durable Super Concrete Technology" was selected as one of the "Top 100 National R&D Achievements of 2020."
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) recently announced the "Top 100 National R&D Achievements of 2020," selecting outstanding research projects based on technological and economic ripple effects from approximately 70,000 government-supported R&D projects conducted last year.
This technology was selected for the third time as an outstanding achievement, following the prestressed concrete bridge technology in 2006 and the long-life cable-stayed bridge technology in 2011. It is unprecedented for a single technology and research team to be selected three times for national R&D outstanding achievements.
The super concrete developed by Dr. Kim has more than five times the strength of ordinary concrete and flows like water, making it excellent in workability. It is a new construction material with a lifespan more than four times longer and manufacturing costs reduced by more than half.
In particular, its tensile strength, which is the force to withstand loads, is 19 MPa?five times stronger than existing materials, 1.3 times stronger than comparable American materials, and 1.6 times stronger than those from France, making it the world's highest level.
Structural technologies that maximize the advantages of super concrete materials have also been developed.
Starting with the construction of the "Hawkeye Bridge" in Iowa, USA, and the "Ka Thae Myaung Bridge" on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway in Myanmar in 2015, it was applied domestically in 2017 to the world's first ultra-high-performance concrete cable-stayed bridge, the "Chuncheon Bridge."
The "Healing Stay Cosmos Resort" in Ulleungdo utilized the advantages of super concrete to realize the world's only rebar-free irregularly shaped structure. It is also applied to the construction of the Godeok Bridge, scheduled for completion in 2022.
Dr. Kim said, "We are preparing a roadmap for institutional improvements in anticipation of the inter-Korean construction cooperation period and the rapid construction of super concrete, along with the main researchers of the super concrete research team. The super concrete field will contribute to the safety of the people and the national economy as a key pillar responsible for the future of construction."
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