BarChip fibre reinforced concrete eliminated 67% of the steel bar from the precast concrete floating pontoons.

In 2015, Port Chernomerets completed upgrades using BarChip fibre reinforced floating precast concrete pontoons. The pontoons were cast from concrete with a core of polystyrene blocks. The original design called for 718 kg of steel bar reinforcement. Due to corrosion concerns an alternative design with BarChip fibre reinforced concrete was adopted.

Using finite element analysis through ATENA, BarChip and design partners JKP Static, along with local representatives Leaf Group, showed that a 67% reduction in steel bar could be achieved with BarChip fibre reinforcement. Subsequently, a design incorporating 238.1 kg of steel bar and 5 kg/m3 of BarChip 48 macro synthetic fibre was chosen for the pontoons.

The installation of the pontoons went as per plan, with no damage to the pontoons during transport or installation. The success of the project has led to more BarChip fibre reinforced pontoons being used, including at Sozopol harbor.

Finite Element Analysis of BarChip Fibre Reinforced Precast Concrete Pontoons

Port Chernomorets now incorporates floating pontoons, a pier for fishing boats and berths for boats and its capacity was increased from 70 to 110 boats. This provided new opportunities for about 700 fishermen from Chernomorets and Sozopol, who are actively engaged in commercial fishing and generate an annual catch of 362 tons of fresh fish, with a catch of 758 tons for the entire municipality.