This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Mínima porosidad y rápido fraguado, claves en la protección y ahorro en reparaciones de hormigón

Saving of time and costs

Minimum porosidad and fast fraguado, keys in the protection and saving in repairs of concrete

Roberto Carpenter, Marketing Assistant for Spain and Latin America in Belzona Polymerics Limited13/12/2012

The concrete is a compound material that thanks to his big mechanical resistance, versatilidad and low cost, is of widespread use in the construction. However, because of his porosidad and low chemical resistance, this material is highly vulnerable in front of different agents that can do that his performance see prejudiced. The composites polymeric of the range Magma of Belzona allow to reconstruct and recover surfaces and structures of concrete endowing them of greater protection on a long-term basis, thanks to his minimum porosidad, offering a greater resistance to the compressesion, upper to 1.000 kg/cm², providing to his time a continuous finishing was cual was the thickness to the that apply .

Problems of the concrete

The concrete is a compound material that offers numerous advantages, but by his porous nature and low resistance chemical is especially vulnerable to different agents that can deteriorate it and mermar his performance. Like this, between the main factors of deterioration by cause of his high porosidad, stands out the retracción hydraulics because of his exhibition to the air with humidity no saturated, and the cycles of freezing that can subject to the concrete to continuous efforts, creating a considerable variation of volume.

Severe damages in the structure.

On the other hand and taking into account his low chemical resistance, the concrete can deteriorate by chemical attack of different substances depending of the surroundings and the conditions to which find subjected, or by causes more common like the damage caused by the contact with the salts for the thaw.

Of equal way the concrete offers big resistance compresiva but however, does not have a similar behaviour in front of tensions and cuttings. To counter these lacks generally reinforces with steel, creating like this the armed concrete. The combination of the properties of both elements gives like result a compound of big resistance and versatilidad.

Main problems of the armed concrete

The properties quoted previously also influence in the armed concrete. Like this the main problems of deterioration that can suffer this compound come given by the own concrete that surrounds the armour, which provides him to this the alcalinidad necessary to avoid his corrosion. However said alcalinidad and the high porosidad do to the especially vulnerable concrete to the sour substances of the surroundings, that can arrive to penetrate it and damage the armour.

Solution Belzona applied.

One of the most common causes of the deterioration of the armed concrete is the carbonatation, generated by the contact of this with the present carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The cal free present in the common concrete (Portland) reacts with the carbon dioxide of the air, which dissolves in the present water in the pores of the own concrete, creating calcic carbonate. Like consequence of this carbonatation the pH of the concrete diminishes from 13, when the concrete is recent and still has not begun the process of carbonatation, until 9 after the same. The known front of carbonatation, establishes the depth of penetration of the carbon dioxide in the concrete and the consistent reduction of the alcalinidad pasivante, which can arrive to the level of the armour. In front of this situation the steel no longer finds protected by the high alcalinidad of the concrete, and thanks to the presence of humidity and oxygen of the environingingment, will produce the corrosion that will give place to the fisuración and desprendimiento of the coating of concrete.

Application finalised.

Depending on the structure and damage that this suffer, will be able to reinforce the same applying new concrete to the area damaged to recover the profile, or it will be necessary to reconstruct totally said structure. In both cases will have to face up to the high costs of inactividad of the installation, derived of the periods of application and fraguado of the concrete, as well as of the possible necessary team to llevar the repair.

Solutions Belzona for the repair of concrete

From does years, the composites polymeric offer a faster option and simple to face up to these problems of maintenance of the concrete. The range of polymers Magma of Belzona, thanks to his properties and scarce porosidad, allows to recover the profile of surfaces of dilapidated concrete offering to his time an excellent protection on a long-term basis in front of the effects of the abrasion, impacts, vibration and chemical attack.

In front of cases of severe deterioration of the concrete, as the one of this runway voladiza in a school where the damages caused mainly by the carbonatation and the salts of thaw, had weakened the structure doing it dangerous for the traffic, the use of the solution based in the polymers Magma of Belzona allows to restore the area and endow it of greater protection in front of the different aggressive agents.

Application after 9 years.

To face up to this situation opted by the use of the solution based in Belzona 4131 (Magma-Build), that thanks to all the previously quoted properties and to his fast fraguado, allowed him to the customer obtain a big saving, since the application could do of fast way, enabling the structure again for his usual use in a minimum time, whereas given his excellent protection on a long-term basis, could lengthen the times between periods of maintenance.