LATEST NEWS FROM FLEXCRETE

Now located in the Faslane Naval Dockyard in Scotland, the newly constructed Valiant Jetty serves as the berthing point for Britain’s modern fleet of Astute Class submarines. Named after the first British built nuclear powered submarine, the 44,000 tonne Valiant Jetty was constructed in dry dock before being floated out on its 12 huge airtight and watertight cells which support this 200 metre long reinforced concrete structure.

Needless to say, it was a key priority for the Ministry of Defence to have the best available seal for the buoyancy chambers. Cemprotec Elastic was the natural choice, as it has excellent bond to concrete in a damp or submerged environment whilst also having the capacity to bridge any cracks which may form in the substrate. Cemprotec Elastic was applied in two 1mm coats by specialist contractor Concrete Repairs Limited using Graco airless spray equipment to achieve a high quality finish. Cemprotec Elastic is CE Marked in compliance with EN 1504-2 for Protection Against Ingress.

With the constant quest for safe and environmentally friendly solutions, together with the need to minimise expense, acting on behalf of London Underground, Metronet have approved the use of Cemprotec E942 for corrosion protection in cast iron shunt tunnels. With strict limitations on working hours and tight control on the use of hazardous products or processes, Cemprotec E942 offers an innovative way of extending the life of ferrous metals in demanding service conditions.

With the need to completely clear the tunnel after each night shift, specialist contractor Quickseal lined the tunnel with 2mm of Cemprotec E942 to significantly extend the anticipated life of the asset. After stripe coating the flanges and boltheads, the application was undertaken without a primer, the high alkalinity of the Cemprotec E942 proving rapid passivation of the surface to stifle further corrosion for decades to come.

With its own unique charm, characterised by fishing boats and the cockle sheds which stretch along the shoreline, Old Leigh is a traditional fishing village in Essex, situated on the River Thames just 50 kilometres to the east of London. Even though the risk of tidal flooding was very low, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council set aside a budget of £145,000 to upgrade the steel sheet pile defences in Old Leigh.

Cemprotec E942 was specified to provide long term protection to the sheet piles which were blast cleaned to remove all contamination back to a sound substrate. Working within the tidal window, Cemprotec E942 was applied by Kieran Lucas Contractors with a PowerSprays PS 1000 pump in two 1mm coats. Cemprotec E942 is favoured for this type of work as it is an environmentally friendly material which can be immersed after as little as two hours following application.

BAFF tanks contain biological aerated flooded filters in which bacteria are grown as a means of treating raw effluent. This creates an environment which is very aggressive towards unprotected concrete, and at the wastewater treatment works at Oldham, all the walls and columns in the BAFF tanks needed reinstating.

With a long history in the dirty water industry, Flexcrete offer a range of CE Marked products for concrete repair and protection in full compliance with EN 1504. In this case, a 60 year design life has been achieved by the application off Monolevel 844SP as an engineering quality faring coat to level the substrate prior to the application of 2mm of Cemprotec E942 to provide long term resistance to chemical attack. Application is on to a saturated concrete and the system is fully water-based, making it safe for use in confined conditions.

Bromley’s Ambulance Station has a staff car park below the main upper deck which the ambulances access via a ramp. Over the years, the fabric of the structure had begun to deteriorate with leakage through the top deck and access ramps causing spalling of the soffits in the staff car park. The Client required a complete solution which provided both concrete repair and protection together with waterproofing beneath asphalt on the ramps and a waterproof friction wearing course for the main deck area.

The Flexcrete specification included Cemprotec E-Floor, a high strength waterproof coating which is applied to saturated concrete. On the main deck, to give appropriate friction properties, Cemprotec EF Grit was broadcast into the Cemprotec E-Floor and sealed in place with Cemprotec Sandseal 760. The concrete repairs below were successfully undertaken with Steel Reinforcement Protector 841 and the lightweight high build mortar, Monolite. White Monolastex Smooth was used for final decoration and long term protection from carbonation.

The platforms which run either side of a train maintenance shed are subject to excessive wear and tear, especially from the loading imposed by the huge hydraulic trolley jacks which are used to lift a locomotive body to expose the running gear for engineering works. The impact of heavy tools dropped on the floor also inflicts localised damage and the inevitable presence of oil and grease demands attention is given to the slip resistance characteristics if accidents are to be avoided.

At Crown Point LMD in Norwich where trains are maintained for National Express East Anglia, time had taken its toll and the platforms were evidently in need of refurbishment. Because of the excellent mechanical properties, thin film nature and slip resistant finish, after localised repairs with Fastfill and general levelling with an initial coat of Cemprotec E-Floor HB, the system was completed with 2mm of high strength Cemprotec E-Floor with a broadcast of Cemprotec EF Grit sealed in place with Cemprotec Sandseal 760.

Q-Park is a strong, highly respected international brand, renowned for its exceptionally high standards. When designing the underground car park at the Stockmann department store in Helsinki, Q-Park needed to take full account of the harsh winter weather in Finland. To cope with snow and ice, vehicles run on studded tyres, causing extensive damage to the concrete deck. Also, the corrosive influence from dripped de-icing salts demands that special precautions are taken to ensure the design life of the structure is not compromised.

Cemprotec E-Floor was specified, a 2mm epoxy and polymer coating which achieves the top Euroclass A2FL-s1 fire rating as part of the CE Marking to EN 1504, a specific requirement for the Finnish market. To provide the contrast which is a design feature for Q-Park, Cemprotec E-Floor was manufactured in a special black colour to give clearly designated parking bays. The system is totally waterproof and is an excellent barrier to chlorides. Cemprotec E-Floor is also inherently tough to resist studded tyres running on the surface.

Lake Margaret Power Station was the first hydro electric facility in Tasmania and back in 1914 it produced an output of 5000hp owing to the reliable rainfall in the area. The water was fed to the turbines via a timber flume constructed of ‘King Billy’ pine, and is still in use today. In 1918, a 17 metre high, 243 metre long concrete gravity dam was added, but after 90 years of service, refurbishment had become essential to maintain the integrity of the structure.

After assessing all the available options, Hydro Tasmania approved the proposal to use the Flexcrete system which is supplied and installed by MRJ Industrial Services. Repairs were undertaken using a combination of environmentally friendly, EN 1504 certified mortars, including Monolevel 844SP for the filling of minor voids, Monomix for larger repairs and Fastfill for areas where time was limited before immersion. Joints were sealed with Cemprotec 2000-S which is adhered in place with Cemprotec Elastic to form a permanently flexible and waterproof seal.

In order to keep pace with increasing demand from the expanding customer base in UK and overseas, improvements in production efficiencies are constantly sought. Flexcrete work closely with the Manufacturing Advisory Service to ensure access to best practice from the wider world of manufacturing, and our significant progress was highlighted during the recent Survive and Thrive Masterclass sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

One area that was quickly identified for investment was the process of production planning. After consultation with Datel, the UK’s leading software integration specialist for mid sized companies, Sage Manufacturing was installed. With batch cards produced at the press of a button and full integration with accounting software, our response to the varied customer demands is now even faster. The system was implemented efficiently and quickly, and Datel have produced a Customer Review to publicise the joint success.