Data Centers are Mission-Critical Facilities, and Concrete is a Mission-Critical Product

Here’s the problem: The demand of data center construction has outgrown the supply and knowledge of ready-mix suppliers in certain areas of the US.  Silverback Concrete’s goal is to exceed specifications for the owner and contractor.  My dad’s college football coach told him, “Frank, it only takes a little extra effort to set yourself apart from the average athlete.”  When I had the privilege to be raised by him and play football for Auburn, I discovered the truth in that important lesson.  Today, we conduct our business under the same principles, and I’m glad to be helping so many contractors, engineers, and owners exceed their goals.

Four years ago, we arrived in South Virginia with our first contract, building a 250,000 sq ft data center.  It didn’t take long to realize that the local ready-mix suppliers did not have the facility to meet the standards that this project demanded.   On our dime, we tore out 1,200 cubic yards of inferior concrete, which put the fire in us to vertically integrate and build our own state-of-the-art ready-mix plant.  Our facilities now use glass pozzolans, liquid fly ash, and 12,000 gallons of chilled and heated water.  Our raw material is housed on SOG concrete bins, which are equipped with irrigation systems to keep the rock cool when needed with a capacity to hold 1,200 cy of raw material available to start every day.

While we were building our new plant, The Great Matt Grimes of M.C. Dean, Electrical Contractor challenged us to create a small rock thermal concrete mix.  The specification was a concrete mix design that had an RHO (thermal resistivity) value below 55, which supports the efficient flow of electricity through the duct banks.  Our first approved design was seven points below specification, at 48, but our work didn’t stop there.  We explored all of the raw material available within a 200-mile radius, and experimented until we were able to engineer a new mix design that was far superior to what was specified.  When we presented the new mix to Matt, he was amazed to see that we had achieved an average RHO registering in the low 30s, and he shouted, “This is a Game Changer!”  Today, this specialized thermal mix is called Silverback Game Changer 3500 Non-Air Duct Bank (SBGC3500NADB).  And remember, the lower the RHO value, the faster the electrical current runs through it.  As of today, we have 18 approved data center mix designs, which exceed all strength and performance specifications.

When designing concrete mixes for the data center world, a few key considerations must be made, depending on the area of the campus.  Are you digging in sand, clay, or rock?  What is the depth of the trench, and what backfill material are you using?  Each of these points is critical to your success with creating the right design that will perform best in your environment.  A “copy and paste” approach for thermal concrete will not work in the data center setting.

Please note, we at Silverback challenge ourselves every day to do our best with our natural gifts and talents.  Our request to all of you is to partner with us in this mission by using your unique ability and gifts every day to achieve our common goal of success.  In conclusion, data center development is here for the foreseeable future, and Silverback Concrete would be honored to provide consultation or construction services for your next campus.  From the position of a humble and hungry, experienced business, we will gladly work together with you to create low-RHO thermal concrete for your projects.

For more information, click here silverbackconcrete.co/contact/.