OREANDA-NEWS. January 30, 2015. ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products is awarded by the German steel construction industry for the development of “CoSFB-Betondubel”, an innovative concrete dowel technology.

This innovation is part of the design of CoSFB (Composite Slim-Floor Beam), a new ingenious floor beam. The ceremony took place on 20th January 2015 at the fair BAU 2015, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems, in Munich.

The development of CoSFB-Betondubel

The development of the integrated floor beam was initiated by ArcelorMittal’s Technical Advisory team in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg (Matthias Braun and Dr Oliver Hechler). The key to this success story was the close collaboration and the early involvement of ArcelorMittal Construction France (Vincent Birarda) and ArcelorMittal Global R&D, Esch-sur-Alzette (Dr Renata Obiala, Dr Olivier Vassart).

A review in 2009 of the current and future market demand quickly lead to the decision to develop a new shear connector for integrated floor beams, the CoSFB-Betondubel.

Thanks to the immediate launch of the project the first test results were available after only six months. This enabled the implementation of the new technology in its first reference projects. The parallel improvement and development of slab elements - Cofradal 260 and Cofraplus 220 - completes the product portfolio and provides sustainable and economic floor solutions.

The integrated floor beam is a sustainable solution for the European market and fills a gap in the construction sector - the deployment of this concept has already started. References already exist in Luxembourg and France. Since August 2014, a National Approval for CoSFB-Betondubel has been available for the German market and the technology is prescribed in first construction biddings.