One of the most versatile, problem solving products available in epoxy systems today is Epoxy Injection Resin.

Structural restoration of concrete by epoxy injection is very often the only alternative to complete replacement. It therefore results in large cost savings. Injection protects the rebar and stops water leakage. Epoxy Injection Resin is a system for welding cracks back together. This welding restores the original strength and loading originally designed into the concrete. poxy injection restores the structural !ualities the concrete design intended. In other words under most conditions it makes the concrete as good as new. It creates an impervious seal to air, water, chemicals, debris, and other contamination. " crack, obviously, is a sign of failure caused by stresses, inade!uate design, improper curing, etc. One of the dangers of a structural crack is the effect that it has on the reinforcing bar. The reinforcing represents one of the main structural values of the concrete. #racks left unprepared allow moisture, road salts and other contaminants to penetrate and attack the rebar. The rebar deteriorates, losing the structural value. $oosing the entire structure is often the result. poxy injection resin has two purposes. %irst, it effectively seals the crack to prevent the damaging moisture entry. Secondly, it monolithically welds the structure together. &ost people assume that this welding of the structure is the most important result of the repair. "ctually what is most important is the sealing. The sealing properties of the injection prevents premature deterioration of the reinforcing. This can be of e!ual, or in some cases greater importance than the structural welding. It would theoretically always be desirable to get this welding effect.

#rack "nalysis
"s with all repair and rehabilitation of concrete, the initial job analysis is by far the most important step. poxy Injection 'esin will weld concrete cracks but, of course, will not repair the cause of the cracking. "naly(e each potential injection application to determine the exact cause or causes of the cracking. #orrecting the cracking problem can be fairly simple, or may be difficult involving design changes. #onsult a structural engineer when design changes are necessary. )o this before starting the injection. 'epairing cracks by Injection is effective after these design

changes. *revent future cracks by fixing the original cause of the cracking, when ever possible. *arking garages are an example of cracking problem that re!uire a structural engineering analysis. Often inade!uate design for expansion+contraction is the cause for parking garage structural cracking. "void weld injecting a crack if there are not enough expansion joints. Sometimes flexible overlays such as poxy.com System # 485 can be used to overcome this defect. This does not however encapsulate the rebar in a way that will totally stop the premature deterioration of the steel. Often times additional joints are needed, thus the analysis of cracking problems is critical.

Injection *reparation
*roper job preparation is essential to insure maximum results. *reparation before injection is even more important. Once the resin is in the crack, there is no turning back. The two most effective systems for setting injection ports, drilled surfaceports.

)rilling for *orts

It is extremely important that the drilling of all ports be done with vacuum attached swivel drill chuck and hollow drill bits. #oncrete dust can be detrimental to the injection processes in several ways. %or example, any dust remaining in the drill hole near a crack can combine with the very low viscosity injection resin, forming a semi.paste. This paste can slow or even block the resin flow. )rilling very tight crack with a solid drill forces dust into the crack. This seals the crack from resin flow. )o not allow shortcuts in the drilling procedures/ )etermining the spacing of ports is done by a highly experience applicator. This spacing is a factor of the tightness of the crack and the depth of the concrete substrate. Spacing is normally between four 012 and eight 032 inches. *ort Setting and Sealing "lign ports directly over cracks. That allows injection resin to flow into the crack. Seal surface cracks. Sealing the exterior of cracks is done with Epoxy Gel type Bonder.

Testing The System Test cracks that are ill defined, or if dust or debris is in the crack. This testing may be done by injecting water into the crack area. 4ater left in the cracks will not effect the injection process or the curing of the poxy.com Injection 'esin. 5eavier injection resin forces the water out the cracks. 4ater injection helps clean the cracked areas. &ore important, is that it helps avoid the unexpected. This process of flushing the cracks is commonly skipped by more experience contractors, who can tell if there will be a flow of resin, by just looking at them. 5owever, when in doubt water testing is a must. If the cracks contain algae, chlorinated water containing copper sulfate is injected. "fter pumping this mixture is left over night. The next morning the crack is flushed by pumping fresh water, into it. This flushes it out before resin injection begins. fflorescence builds up on the bottom of a crack in a hori(ontal slab. 4ater in the crack extracting soluble calcium hydroxide is the cause. The water evaporates at the surface leaving the lime, which later reacts with the carbon dioxide in the air to form limestone. The inside of the crack, is fre!uently free of limestone and making it suitable for injection.

poxy 'esin *roperties

poxy Injection 'esin should be "ST& C881 Type 1 Grade 1. %or maximum filling of cracks a low viscosity injection resin must be used. "ST& C881 allows a viscosity of up to 6777 #*S. 5owever, the viscosity should be in the 877.977 #*S range, for most injection applications. "ny thicker you get poor fill 0or you have to pump at excessive pressure2, any thinner and you get excessive leaks. Tensile and :ond Strengths are very important, to prevent re.checking if the structural member injected is put into tension. In general the Tensile Strength 0"ST& ).9832 should never be less than 9,;77 p.s.i. Injection 'esin should have a bond strength of <,777 *.S.I or greater. #ompressive strength with most epoxies will be close to or in excess of =7,777 p.s.i. The resins that we have It is the poxy :onders used to seal the ports should be, C881 Type 1: >rade =, 6, or 8 may be used on the top side of hori(ontal surfaces. >rade 6, or 8 may be used on walls. >rade 8 may be used on overhead surfaces.

'esin Injection
poxy resin injection with any industry standard 6,= injection machine or poxy.com Injection G n designed for poxy.com Injection resin is the only way of assuring

!uality installation. Single component caulking guns, pressure pots, or similar batching e!uipment are not suitable for injection. "s an alternative to an epoxy injection machine, poxy.com offers 45! ml "inary injection system. This uses a binary caulking gun and static mix tubes to inject this resin. $imit pressures to 17 p.s.i for most applications. xcessive pressures can create additional stressing of the crack. It can also cause hydraulic lifting, rupturing of the cracked substrate, or further elongation of the crack. $ow pressures allow gradual resin flow into the crack for deeper penetration. On vertical cracks, injections are start at the lowest point, and continue upward on the crack area. 4hile injecting the lowest port, resin will flow to and out of the next higher port. 4hen pure resin is flowing out the next port cap, plug the current injection port and move to the next port. Then injection continues in the port showing resin flow. This procedure continues until all ports are full. poxy Injection 'esin Systems should be of very low viscosity, for most applications. That way it will flow in the smallest hair line cracks. 'esin can travel several feet from the point of injection. It may take some time before reaching the next port or penetrating through pin holes in the surface. #oring samples have shown that epoxy injection effectively fills cracks including small voids and hairline cracks.

Injection )uring xtreme 4eather

" cold substrate will cause an increase in the viscosity of the injection resin. This slows down the rate of injection. " hot substrate results in premature jelling of the resin with se!uential loss of penetration. )uring extremely hot weather an open bridge deck may exceed temperatures as high as =17 )egrees %. Special precautions are necessary before injection work can be done in such weather. The precaution may be shading the bridge, and water cooling. "lways check substrate temperature. The injection machine and its hoses re!uire isolation from extremes of temperature. poxy injection undertaken during cold weather also re!uires special precautions.

4hen doing injection work in free(ing conditions, determining if there is ice present in the crack is critical. )etermining if a cracks inner surfaces are ice coated, is e!ually important. 4hen injecting under these conditions, the resin will not bond to the substrate and no structural rebonding will result. It is usually safer to preheat the portion of the structure you are injecting. 4hen heating a structure do not overheat it. This closes the crack. 4hen removing heat, the crack may rapidly open. This will rupture the resin before it has a chance to achieve final cure. In most cases, indirect heating is much more desirable than direct heating. &aintain heat for several hours before and after the injection application.

"esthetics
The color of the sealer material used in resin injection is concrete gray. They are difficult to remove. If aesthetics re!uire complete cleaning, the sealing material can be removed by grinding. This is normally done at an additional charge to the O4? '.

Injection "gainst " 5ead of 4ater

Injection of poxy Injection 'esin against a head of water re!uires a slightly different procedure than normal injection. If water is running from a crack, applying a hydraulic cement 0fast setting2 seals the cracks and sets the ports. poxy pastes will not set up under this type of wet condition. The hydraulic cement seals the cracks and diverts all water flow through the injection ports. 5ydraulic cement is fast setting, but it does not have the strength needed for an Injection Sealer. Epoxy Concrete Bonder can have the strength to prevent blowouts or leaks while injecting. "fter the hydraulic cement cures applying Epoxy Concrete Bonder# That solves this problem. The injection process follows the procedures described before. The Injection resin forces the water out of the crack and through the adjacent ports. The resin has an amber color and does not look like water. *ure resin flows from the higher port before capping and moving on. The head of water will re!uire increasing the injection pressure used.

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)elamination of concrete structures is an area where injection can also offer selective repair. " prime example is bridge decks or other self supporting structures. The most common delamination is shearing of the concrete. This is commonly at the upper rebar mat. "nother common situation is hollow plane that develop when concrete bridge piers are resurfaced. Old piers are encased in new concrete. 5ollow planes in this type of application are common, especially against smooth sections of the old pier. #racking then occurs on the surface perpendicular to the hollow plane. These delaminated area is subject to chemical penetration from the surface and moisture which may attack the reinforcing bar. If the delamination is not repaired, traffic will cause the area to pop.out by pounding on the delaminated upper concrete layer. %ree(e.Thaw damage will also tear the concrete apart. The greater the number of free(e.thaws, the more water in the cracks during these free.thaws, the greater, and !uicker the damage to the concrete. &ap delaminations by drag chain, hammer or sounding device. The damaged area re!uires no less than four 012 ports drilled for resin flow, depending on the si(e and shape of the delamination. This prevents the trapping of water that may be present. The delamination is normally hollow planes that run along the reinforcing bar. 4hen injecting the delamination, the resin will follow these hollow planed areas and can travel several feet in filling the voids.

#O?#$ASIO?
poxy Injection Systems is very effective at repairing concrete cracks, delaminations, and hollow planes when used according to manufacturers recommendations. @ob analysis and proper preparation are very important to insuring the maximum performance from the poxy *roducts, or any other concrete repair products. The right e!uipment is critical. *roper setup continuous mixing epoxy injection machines must always be used with no exception. Injection staff and management must have the training and experience to do the work right the first time. poxy injection has to be done right the first time. There is no second chance. So it is critical that your injection work be done by well trained and e!uipped, experienced personnel