Chantiers Modernes Construction, subsidiary of VINCI Construction, has been commissioned by the Société du Grand Paris to build the operation and maintenance centre for Line 18 of the Grand Paris Express in Palaiseau, south of Paris.
This industrial civil engineering complex will span a total surface area of 64,000 m² over six storeys and includes:
- a central command centre that controls the signalling system along the line (4,000 m²)
- a maintenance and siding facility designed for automatic metro wagons ranging between 46 and 60 m long (40,000 m²)
- an infrastructure maintenance facility to maintain all equipment along the line (20,000 m²)
The project requires the involvement of between 200 and 350 people, depending on the stage.
PROJECT
Operation and maintenance centre for Line 18 of the Grand Paris Express in Palaiseau
PROJECT OWNER
Société du Grand Paris
PROJECT MANAGER
Chantiers Modernes Construction (VINCI Construction)
CONSTRUCTION PERIOD
2022-2024
An exclusively low-carbon concrete project
To complete this project, 28,000 m3 of EXEGY® concrete is required, all of which will be low carbon. Chantiers Modernes Construction partnered with the VINCI Construction concrete lab to develop the new composition, in which 70% of the clinker is replaced by calcium fillers and high blast furnace slag. During the development phase, tests were carried out to ensure the newly formulated EXEGY® concretes were at least as easy to use as conventional concretes, especially in terms of viscosity.
As now permitted by regulation, these EXEGY® concretes have undergone a certain number of final tests, including compression and durability tests, in order to ensure they are perfectly compliant with current standards.
10 different formulations to suit different ways in which the concrete can be used
No fewer than 10 different formulations are used on this project, tailored to suit the purpose they serve, including structural concretes, self-consolidating concretes, special chemical- and salt-resistant concretes. They are produced on site by a concrete plant installed by Béton Solutions Mobiles, an EXEGY® partner.
0%
classic
100%
low carbon
0%
very low carbon
0%
ultra low carbon
28,000
Volume of EXEGY® concrete in m3
50%
Percentage reduction in CO2*
*compared with an equivalent conventional concrete
When it comes to using low-carbon concretes, they behave no differently to conventional concretes in terms of laying, but they do require heat treatment during winter months to ensure they set and the formwork can be removed within the standard timeframes. This occurs at two points – firstly when the components are mixed together, the water is heated in the concrete plant; and secondly, during the drying phase, tarpaulins sheets can be draped over the concrete and hot air can be blown underneath.
This project gave Chantiers Modernes Construction an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to combine low-energy construction techniques with tight cost control by using competitive concretes that meet the standards and needs of the construction industry.
