Epoxy injection

Epoxy injection

Resin injection is based to repair concrete that is cracked or delaminated and to seal cracks in concrete to water leakage. Two basic types of resin and injection techniques are used to repair concrete; epoxy resins and polyurethane resins. Epoxy resins cure to form solids with high strength and relatively high module of elasticity.

These materials bond readily to concrete and are capable, when properly applied, of resorting the original structural strength to cracked concrete. The high modules of elasticity causes epoxy resin systems to be unsuitable for rebonding cracked concrete that will undergo subsequent movement.

The epoxies, however, do not cure very quickly, particularly at low temperatures, and using them to stop large flows of water may not be practical. Cracks to be injected with epoxy resins should be between 0.005 inch and 0.25 inch in width.

It is difficult or impossible to inject resin into cracks less than 0.005 inch in width, while it is very difficult to retain injected epoxy resin in cracks greater than 0.25 inch in width, although high viscosity epoxies have been used with some success Epoxy resins cure to form relatively brittle materials with bond strengths exceeding the shear or tensile strength of the concrete.

If these materials are used to rebound cracked concrete that is subsequently exposed to loads exceeding the tensile or shear strength of the concrete, if should be excepted that the cracks will

recur adjacent to the epoxy bond line. In other words, epoxy resin should not be used to rebond

'working' cracks.

Epoxy resins will bond with varying degrees of success to wet concrete, and there are a number of special techniques that have been developed and used to rebond and seal water leaking cracks with epoxy resins. These special techniques and procedures are highly technical and, in most cases, are proprietary in nature.

Polyurethane resins are used to seal and eliminate or reduce water leakage from concrete cracks and joints. They can also be injected into cracks that experience some small degree of movement. Such systems, with the exception of the two-part solid polyurethanes, have relatively low strengths and should not be used to structurally rebond cracked concrete.

Cracks to be injected with polyurethane resin should not be less than 0.005 inch in width. No upper limit on crack width has been established for the polyurethane resins at the time this is being written.

Polyurethane resins are available with substantial variation in their physical properties. Some of the polyurethanes cure into flexible foams.

Other polyurethane systems cure to semi-flexible, high-density solids that can be used to rebond concrete cracks subject to movement.

Most of the foaming polyurethane resins require some form of water to initiate the curing reaction and are, thus, a natural selection for use in repairing concrete exposed to water or in wet environments.

At the time this is written, there are no standard specifications for polyurethane resins equivalent to the standard specification for Epoxy-Resin-Base Bonding Systems for Concrete. ASTM Designation C-881.