Iran and its Ultra High Performance Concrete
Back in the day, I used to read The Economist magazine during my commutes to work on the bus. In the recent run up to the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, I recalled an article I had read in The Economist back in 2012: Smart concrete; Bunker-busting.
The article isn’t about Iran’s nuclear program; it is about Iran’s concrete program.
Because Iran is located in an earthquake zone, Iranian engineers have been pioneers in developing Ultra High Performance Concrete or UHPC. The Economist article speculates that, by using nanoparticles Iran was developing a newer version of UHPC that would be four times as strong as the best commercially available UHPC at the time:
UHPC can withstand more compression than other forms of concrete. Ductal, a French version of the material which is commercially available, can withstand pressure many times higher than normal concrete….Although it has been demonstrated only in small samples, it might be possible, using such nanoparticles, to produce concrete that is four times stronger than Ductal.
For the attack on the Iranian facilities, the US used a munition called the Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP). At the time that The Economist article came out (2012), the development of the MOP was almost complete. The Economist was aware of the MOP but felt that it was nevertheless unclear whether it would be able to cause damage through Iran’s UHPC.
[The MOP] can, reportedly, break through over 60 metres of ordinary concrete. However, the bomb is less effective against harder stuff, penetrating only eight metres into concrete that is just twice as strong. It is therefore anyone’s guess….how the MOP might perform against one of Iran’s ultra-strong concretes.
All of this has become newly relevant as controversy has emerged about the extent to which the attack on Iran’s facilities was completely successful.
References
The Economist. “Smart Concrete; Bunker-Busting.” London: The Economist Intelligence Unit N.A., Incorporated, March 3, 2012. 926174880. eLibrary; Research Library. (Accessed through ProQuest)
US strikes did not destroy Iran nuclear programme, says intelligence assessment – BBC, 24 June 2025
Published: Sat 05 Jul 2025
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