In the pursuit of technological development that meets performance and sustainability criteria, interests arise in various fields that, along with the increasing use of better materials, lead us to the development of "high-performance" materials in the construction industry with the aim of satisfying new market demands. In the civil construction sector, self-compacting high-performance concretes are already widely used for various purposes. The objective of this project is the development of technically and economically competitive self-compacting concretes for the production of slender prestressed structural elements.

Self-compacting concrete is considered one of the greatest advances in construction materials technology, due to the significant advantages in reducing construction time (represented by increased productivity), as well as the development of a technically more competitive material due to the development of high mechanical strengths and excellent surface finish. The high performance of this type of concrete in its fresh state allows for better formwork filling ability (especially with high reinforcement density or complex shapes). Self-compacting concrete production requires more controlled production processes, a supply of raw materials with low heterogeneity, and more refined/adjusted mix design calculations compared to traditional concretes.

Currently, the industrial construction market demands projects with greater complexity, large spans, and faster execution. In this scenario, the use of prestressed precast structures becomes advantageous, as they combine the ease of industrialization and rationalization with the possibility of employing large spans.

In particular, given that Rio Grande do Sul is an important agricultural producer, warehouses and storage facilities for fertilizer are abundant. When stored in bulk, these products result in environments that are aggressive to metallic materials because they contain elements that act as corrosion catalysts. Thus, prestressed precast concrete becomes a viable alternative, also due to the greater durability it provides. However, in order to achieve spans equivalent to those of steel structures using precast concrete structures, it is necessary to develop and employ extremely slender elements so that the self-weight of the elements is reduced.