Secure anchor for prestressed concrete

We are a subsidiary of Implenia and specialize in structural engineering and geotechnical systems for special civil engineering. BBV Systems develops, manufactures and installs post-tensioning systems for bridges, prestressed ceilings in building construction and wind power towers as well as geotechnical systems for foundations, excavations, sluices and slope stabilization. We also help to reinforce ageing bridges and repair parking garages.

BBV Systems is a specialist company - we work with our own staff throughout Europe and beyond to implement our customers' projects. BBV Systems Thailand serves the Asian region. Our customers are large, international construction groups as well as leading regional construction companies with whom we work on mostly complex and technically demanding infrastructure projects. BBV Systems offers a crucial part of many interesting and well-known buildings.

The BBV systems have national and European approvals and are also used in America, Africa and Asia.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any specific questions.

Your contact person

BBV Systems develops the systems used in-house, as there are no reliable design models for the concentrated load transfer of large stressing forces in structural engineering. We test our prototypes in an extensive test program to prove their technical function and durability. With this proof, we receive the general building inspection approval for our processes from the responsible institute for structural engineering. These approvals form the basis for our business activities.

We offer two options for our tendons: manufacture on the construction site or prefabrication in our factory.

When using the so-called "prefabricated tendons" you benefit from time savings when installing on the construction site.

With all of our systems, we work with you to find the best solution for your project.

Prestressed concrete construction and prestressing methods have become an integral part of structural engineering.
Fatigue strength is an important property of our class 1 prestressing steel and ensures the durability of the structures.
In the long term, our system should therefore contribute to a longer service life, less maintenance and less repairs. With our system, engineering offices can take into account the high requirements of the client and define the project specifications, the draft planning and the public tender accordingly.

The BBV systems are basically suitable and approved for all prestressed concrete structures, from bridges and flat ceilings over containers such as silos or LNG tanks to sunken tunnels or wind power towers.

For the latter, BBV Systems has national and European approvals - both for internal and external pre-tensioning of wind power towers.

Take advantage of our decades of experience from thousands of successfully implemented towers.

Very important. In our field of activity in Germany, we are leaders in the patenting of in-house developments. You will find certifications and approvals in our download center.

To the download center

Yes, BBV employs a large number of motivated, flexible and competent fitters.
The use of these highly qualified and very well equipped fitters, who monitor and carry out the prestressing work on the construction site, guarantees the high quality of our work.

In principle, replanning suggestions and economization considerations are possible, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any specific questions.

Your contact person

The majority of the reinforcement measures take place on bridge structures - in the form of external longitudinal prestressing or subsequent shear or transverse prestressing of the bridge cross-section. In addition, tensioning methods are also used to reinforce the pier head / foot or for the external strapping of rotationally symmetrical containers, tanks or silos. In building construction, for example, beams or concrete trusses are often reinforced by additional prestressing.

The external tensioning system of the BBV can be individually adapted to the existing structure on site, which is why an extensive measurement of the structure is not mandatory. Thanks to the use of space-saving anchors, only minimal interference with the existing structure takes place when using our bar tensioning method. In addition, innovative hybrid plate anchors made of UHPC can be variably adapted to the building geometry and thus ensure optimized durability and cost-effectiveness.

Infrastructure building projects in particular are subject to constant fatigue stress due to cyclical traffic loads, which is often the reason for maintenance or reinforcement of the structures. In Germany, prestressing steels are divided into two classes with regard to their fatigue strength, whereby only the higher class 1 may be used for concrete bridges. BBV Systems offers - exclusively in Germany - prestressing steels of class 1 for both strand and bar post-tensioning processes.

Weather, exhaust fumes, road salts change the properties of the concrete. The steel reinforcement inside can corrode. In the worst case, the resulting loss of cross-section leads to failure of the load-bearing capacity. Thus, corrosion protection is essential. Cathodic corrosion protection (CP) offers economical and inexpensive corrosion protection for the reinforcement in the concrete structure. Instead of laboriously replacing the concrete, the reinforcement is protected from corrosion with the very targeted use of electricity. The principle of the CP is based on the fact that the anodic partial reaction - the iron dissolution - is prevented by an opposing direct current. The reinforcement is protected by means of permanent anode material applied to the concrete surface. This is attached to the positive pole of a protective current device. The reinforcement is exposed and connected to the negative pole. When the protective current is activated, it now flows through the anode to the reinforcement and back to the voltage source. The reinforcement is cathodically polarized. Thus, he anodic metal dissolution is prevented. The cathodic partial reaction leads to the repassivation of the reinforcement due to the associated increase in the pH value in the concrete.

The CP offers the advantage that no intact material has to be removed unnecessarily, since chlorides or carbonation processes do not damage the concrete. The advantages of concrete renovation using cathodic corrosion protection are that there is hardly any noise emission (no high-pressure water jets necessary). There is no water entry into the building. Nor is there any massive, statically relevant intervention in the construction. The blocking of individual areas is reduced to a minimum. The areas below in a multi-storey car park do not have to be blocked off in order to protect against possible penetration by high-pressure water jets. The anodes can be used quickly and flexibly in the form of nets, strips, rods. All geometric framework conditions can be mapped. Rod anodes can also be used, for example, to work on the opposite side (e.g. the underside of the bridge to protect the road surface). In this example, there would be no usage restrictions or blocks on the top.

A compilation of the key data for the geotechnical systems of BBV Systems GmbH can be found here.

Do you have any further questions? Feel free to contact our specialists at BBV Geotechnics for detailed information.

The design and use of anchors is regulated in Germany via DIN SPEC 18537 with additional specifications for DIN EN 1537.
For short-term anchors, approval is required for the anchor head construction, the coupling elements and the tension member. The temporary BBV strand anchors with strands 0.6 "and 0.62" in prestressing steel grades 1570/1770 and 1660/1860 are approved in Germany and Europe up to 31 strands.

For permanent anchors (service life >2 years), a (system) approval is required for the entire anchor construction.
The BBV permanent strand anchors with strands 0.6 "and 0.62" in prestressing steel grades 1570/1770 and 1660/1860 are approved in Germany up to 31 strands.

As a result of intensive research and development work, BBV Systems GmbH was granted the patent for the innovative anchor system BBV-multibond®.
Compared to traditional grouting anchors, the BBV-multibond® multi-strand anchor system leads to a planable activation of the "double" or "triple" anchor load-bearing capacity in accordance with existing standards. Both the manufacture of the anchor and the simultaneous and joint tensioning, testing and fixing of the entire multi-strand anchor is possible with conventional anchor and press technology.

When installing and testing the multibond anchor, no additional or special work steps are required compared to traditional manufacturing methods. The security level of the established anchors and the normative test criteria are retained. The system is suitable for temporary, semi-permanent and permanent anchoring and has also been extensively tested as a completely removable anchor system. The economic efficiency and maturity of the anchor system BBV-multibond® enables significant savings in construction time and a reduction in anchor manufacturing costs.
You can find more information here!