At BAU, the world's leading trade fair for the construction sector, from 17 to 22 April in Munich, ArcelorMittal's business units will present a wide range of products on offer: from facade solutions and load-bearing structures to roof structures for photovoltaic systems.

Robust, sustainable, and as eye-catching as possible

Steel as a material is playing an increasingly important role in resource-efficient construction. Steel is versatile, fully recyclable, and – thanks to innovative technologies – can be manufactured with a smaller carbon footprint. The use of steel products with reduced CO₂ emissions represents further progress towards a climate-neutral construction industry.

"This year, our focus is on the topic of sustainable construction with steel, highlighting the role that low carbon emissions steel can play in reducing the carbon footprint of the construction sector. Manufacturing methods are changing, which means the use of renewable energies and scrap are increasing. As a durable, infinitely recyclable, but also very versatile material, steel is suitable for any use in the construction industry. And it is an important material in the energy transition, with low-carbon emissions steel needed for wind power or photovoltaics. Visitors to BAU will be able to see this for themselves," says Tapas Rajderkar, Chief Marketing Officer of ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products.

Carbon emissions reduction thanks to XCarb® steels

Sustainability, circular economy, and ArcelorMittal's XCarb® range are in focus this year. This brings together all the group's manufacturing processes, products, initiatives, and innovation projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel is made in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) using 100% renewable electricity and up to 100% scrap, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of steel buildings. Emissions can be as low as 300 kilograms CO₂ per tonne compared with over two tonnes for steel produced conventionally. In the construction of an industrial hall, for example, steel that is recycled and produced with renewable electricity can save as many tonnes of CO₂ as the total steel tonnage required for the building envelope and supporting structure, without changing the construction method or the established building process.

Sustainability goes hand in hand with quality at the world's leading steel and mining group. In addition to the aesthetic aspect, the performance and recyclability of the materials and the construction elements used have an impact on the life cycle assessment of a building. The use of high strength steels contributes to a reduction in the carbon footprint. For example, for the same load-bearing capacity, the carbon footprint of a beam can be reduced by 15 to 20%. When using a composite deck instead of a conventional precast concrete one, the reduction is up to 30%.

A wide range of applications in construction

With the Granite® product family, ArcelorMittal offers a range of organic coated steels for building envelopes with more than 120 colours and textures, guaranteed for up to 40 years. For facade substructures, solar mounting structures, but also cable trays, composite floors, and many more applications, Magnelis® metallic coated steel resists corrosion three times better than regular galvanised steel. Both products are available as XCarb® recycled and renewably produced.

Special roof panels for photovoltaic systems

A few years ago, a solar/photovoltaic system was still a "nice to have", but today it is a standard feature and has even become mandatory for new commercial buildings. ArcelorMittal specialises in the installation of photovoltaic modules on roofs and will be showing its portfolio at BAU. Whether renovating existing buildings or constructing new ones, Ondatherm Solar® roof panels offer simple and quick installation for photovoltaic systems, are robust, and provides a high level of thermal protection. Various flexible solutions are available to customers and builders for mounting the modules.

Sustainable supporting structures

ArcelorMittal will also present its solutions for load-bearing structures at BAU. Cofraplus® 80 composite floor profiles are approved by building authorities as prefabricated steel floors and have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to prefabricated concrete slabs. For structural applications, high strength HISTAR® steels provide cost and material savings. The weather-resistant Arcorox® steel grades with natural corrosion protection have a long service life and are already being used successfully in bridge construction projects.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Germany
Constructalia

Images:
© Tom Clausen, shutterstock.com, and Philippe Vandenameele
© ArcelorMittal

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BAU 2023

Text & photos: ©ArcelorMittal Construction

The site of the Martin's Patershof Hotel – the result of renovating and transforming a church into a four star hotel – was the first to implement an innovative solution combining composite flooring with lightweight concrete, namely Cofraplus® 77 LS, with Argex concrete consisting of expanded clay aggregates. This project was the culmination of nearly two years of research and development by ArcelorMittal Research Centre and the close attention paid by the engineers to ArcelorMittal Construction's prescription to meet the needs of the builder-promoter.

The aim of the Martin’s Patershof Hotel project was unique: to create, within the heart of a nineteenth century church in Mechelen, Belgium - a five-storeyed hotel with 77 rooms in a single framework. The renovation and transformation of the site was the first to apply composite flooring with lightweight concrete. 

Composite flooring

Composite floor slab is a mixed construction system consisting of a steel sheet which serves as shuttering for concrete and reinforces the slab, totally or partially replacing the tensile reinforcements.

It is essential to achieve a bond between the steel and concrete that is stronger than the horizontal stresses to which the slab is exposed.

In this system, the concrete-steel bonding is achieved thanks to the special design of the steel sheets. These sheets are embossed with frustum-shaped projections, repeated indefinitely, both on their horizontal surfaces and on the sloping sides.

During assembly and concrete grouting, the self supporting steel deck constitutes a working platform.

A new solution for renovation

In new constructions, light flooring is particularly useful in multi-storeyed buildings because it significantly reduces the dead weight and lightens the structure and the foundations. But this product has also proved to be useful in renovation works where it is advisable not to overload the existing masonry beyond its limited bearing capacity. In addition, it enables increase in span length without forestay during the concrete grouting.

A solution suited for the Martin’s Patershof Hotel project

ArcelorMittal’s decision to use ArcelorMittal Construction's composite floor Cofraplus® 77 LS combined with Argex concrete is justified for several reasons. First, the configuration of the site required the manual transfer of all the materials through the entrance gate which was only 1.4 m wide.

Then, the thickness of the slab had to be 23 cm, taking the permissible dead weight by adding lightweight concrete up to 1.5 kN / m², which amounted to 450 tonnes for a floor space of 3000 m². The last reasoning was considered decisive by the contractor as the land on which the church is based does not allow the use of conventional composite floors.

The ultimate load bearing capacity was weak. Furthermore, the contractor wanted to avoid the use of concrete props in the middle of this dense structure with five floors.

Despite its well-known rigidity within the range of composite floors, Cofraplus® 77 did not have the permit to cross the limit of 3.2 m with 23 cm of normal concrete. The Argex concrete had the permit to do so. The project technicians used structural concrete with density ranging between 16 and 18 kN/m3 instead of 25 kN/m3. Hence, for a 15 cm thick slab, there was a reduction of about 1 kN / m².

An innovation that met all the objectives: stability and fire resistance for engineers in addition to approved planning and financial savings for the developer-contractor.

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Martin's Patershof Hotel