Steelike

Over the past two decades, Kulish Design Co., LLC has been evolving. The founder of Kulish Design Co., William Kulish, originally created a UHPC mix design named Steelike UHPC for the architectural and decorative industry.

After rigorous ASTM testing were performed, he realized that it would also work extremely well for structural applications.  Recently this was confirmed in a FHWA project, where it was proven that it has what it takes to be used as a structural UHPC.

Steelike UHPC has tested extremely well under multiple ASTM testing regimens including, but not limited to, compressive, flexural, chloride permeability and direct tension testing.  To be accepted as a true UHPC, a mix design needs to exceed 22,000 psi in compressive testing.  Just having a 22 ksi test result does not make it UHPC. A UHPC mix design also needs to be flexural or you simply have a strong brittle mix that when failing, does so catastrophically.  To create this flexural characteristic we often incorporate the addition of metal fibers.  Glass fibers are not strong enough to carry the load while spanning a crack. This is because when a load is applied to a structure such as a beam or girder that is fabricated with UHPC and the first crack occurs, it needs to sustain the very force that initially cracked it for a period of time.  This is called strain hardening/strain softening.  More about that later.

To continuously learn from the experts in the UHPC field, and at the same time contribute to its advancement, William Kulish, of Kulish Design Co., became part of a network of Professors, Mechanical Engineers,  Structural Engineers, Architects and Material Scientists focused on UHPC structural applications.

Today our expertise includes UHPC from blending, testing, mixing and placement. Applications of Steelike UHPC include, but not limited to,  advanced bridge construction,  advanced bridge repair such as overlays, expansion joint repairs, deck panels and deck panel joint connections.