How polymers improve concrete floors

5 Some shortcomings of concrete

6 Miracles made of concrete, but not for industrial floors

7 Special cements for industrial floors with no shrinkage

8 Problems caused by cementitious overlays

9 What reaction polymers can achieve, at a cost

10 Improvements with polymer dispersions

11 A very simple method of benchmarking of overlays

12 Protection against impact and chemical attack as a function of strength and layer thickness

13 The future: chemistry and robotronics

14 References

How polymers improve concrete floors
Possibilities today and prospects for the future - a pragmatic approach to the limitations of concretes

by Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Peter Seidler

5^th International Colloquium Jan 21-23, 2003

5 Some shortcomings of concrete

Some important properties for an industrial floor are not provided by concrete as we currently know, or at least not to an adequate extent. Generally speaking, concrete is:

• not free of joints
• not free of cracks

• not strong enough
• not homogeneous from the surface to the core

• not dust-free
• not abrasion-resistant enough
• not impact-resistant enough
• not sufficiently resistant to chemicals

• not a moisture barrier
• mostly available in grey, and not in all colours
• does not have homogeneous surface colour

• very thick, at a layer thickness of ≥ 180 mm
• heavy, at an installed weight of ≥ 400 kg/m²
• difficult to smooth with a high degree of precision
• frequently cannot be placed without reinforcement

• difficult to plan
• difficult to place, needing training
• difficult to repair

Table 4: Disadvantages of concrete as an industrial floor

Often these disadvantages are little known because people only look at the price and do not carry out any benchmarking or a value analysis, even with regard to fitness for the purpose and durability. Field analyses are only conducted sporadically, without the results obtained being systematically put into practice. The work of A. M. Vaysburd et al. is an exception. McDonald reported about this work at the 10^th ICPIC in Honolulu (USA) in May 2001.

Last Update: Jan 29, 2003

0 Abstract 1 We have all the means for better concrete 2 History of mortars and concretes 3 Costs of an industrial concrete floor 4 The meaning of "strength" and "resistance" 5 Some shortcomings of concrete 6 Miracles made of concrete, but not for industrial floors 7 Special cements for industrial floors with no shrinkage 8 Problems caused by cementitious overlays 9 What reaction polymers can achieve, at a cost 10 Improvements with polymer dispersions 11 A very simple method of benchmarking of overlays 12 Protection against impact and chemical attack as a function of strength and layer thickness 13 The future: chemistry and robotronics 14 References		How polymers improve concrete floors Possibilities today and prospects for the future - a pragmatic approach to the limitations of concretes by Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Peter Seidler 5^th International Colloquium Jan 21-23, 2003 5 Some shortcomings of concrete Some important properties for an industrial floor are not provided by concrete as we currently know, or at least not to an adequate extent. Generally speaking, concrete is: • not free of joints • not free of cracks • not strong enough • not homogeneous from the surface to the core • not dust-free • not abrasion-resistant enough • not impact-resistant enough • not sufficiently resistant to chemicals • not a moisture barrier • mostly available in grey, and not in all colours • does not have homogeneous surface colour • very thick, at a layer thickness of ≥ 180 mm • heavy, at an installed weight of ≥ 400 kg/m² • difficult to smooth with a high degree of precision • frequently cannot be placed without reinforcement • difficult to plan • difficult to place, needing training • difficult to repair Table 4: Disadvantages of concrete as an industrial floor Often these disadvantages are little known because people only look at the price and do not carry out any benchmarking or a value analysis, even with regard to fitness for the purpose and durability. Field analyses are only conducted sporadically, without the results obtained being systematically put into practice. The work of A. M. Vaysburd et al. is an exception. McDonald reported about this work at the 10^th ICPIC in Honolulu (USA) in May 2001.
Last Update: Jan 29, 2003