Carbonation, Freeze/Thaw and More
Professional Service Industries, Inc.
Professional Service Industries conducted tests of Seal-It Concrete Sealant beginning in March of 1992. The tests conducted include compressive and flexural strength, penetration, carbonation, and freeze thaw. Cores taken from an 85 year old building; blocks, cubes and rectangles of concrete were subjected to an assortment of tests.
One core of concrete taken from an 85 year old building measured 850 pounds per square inch (psi) compression strength, a second core from the same building measured 2520 psi after being treated with Seal-It Concrete Sealant. That is 196% increase in compression strength. A similar pair or cores from this building were tested a few months later exhibiting a 121% increase in compression strength.
The laboratory tested high strength cubes of concrete which produced a 24% increase in compression strength (6120 to 8060 psi). The 6120 psi cube of concrete would be much less porous than the 650 psi core from the 85 year old building, and as Seal-It Concrete Sealant is a penetrating solution, there are fewer pores for the sealant to fill and less of an increase in compression strength.
The lab has completed two penetration tests and determines a depth of 8.5 inches in a 2280 psi rectangle of concrete, while a 3 inch diameter, 3630 psi cylinder is shown to have been completely penetrated by Seal-It Concrete Sealant.
Three samples of concrete exhibit an average 19.8% increase in compression strength from 3400 psi, while a further three samples show a 23.8% increase in flexural strength. A cubed sample of concrete has increased in compression strength by 28.8% and 28.3% increase in flexural strength.
Resistance to the destructive effects of carbonation is tested. Two untreated samples of concrete are tested to reveal 0.57 and 0.63 inch penetration of CO2. Two samples of concrete converted by the use of Seal-It Concrete Sealant have no depth of penetration of CO2.
Professional Services laboratory also tested the effects of freeze thaw on untreated and converted concrete. A 4200 psi sample of concrete was subjected to 300 cycles of freeze thaw. The untreated sample is recorded to have completely deteriorated, while a sample converted with Seal-It Concrete Sealant shows “no effect”.
Compression Strength
Geo Technologies
Results of compression strength testing performed on concrete cylinders treated with Seal-It Concrete Sealant. These test results were submitted to us from a U.S. reseller.
The tests were performed only 7 days after the slurry mix was placed in the cylinder forms. Even though the concrete cylinders had not been given 28 days to cure, and the application method used was not recommended by Seal-It, there is an average increase in compression strength of 14.4% over the control cylinder.
Seal-It Concrete is a very user friendly product, and we believe you can achieve even better results. Seal-It personnel will help you with a custom application procedure for your project.
Waste Water, Bacteria and Concrete
Concrete and Bacteria:
A corrosive relationship.
Bacteria exist in our environment that are responsible for the breakdown of concrete. In short, a by-product of the living bacteria is sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid and concrete are not a good mix.
The cost of this destructive mix was known only too well by a customer that contacted our St. Louis representative, SealMaxx of St. Louis . The customer, a concrete pipe manufacturer, was presently using a plastic liner to prevent corrosion caused by bacteria. Mr. Braden Schrum of Beco Concrete in St. Louis was searching for a more cost effective solution. Mr. Schrum liked what he saw that SealMaxx of St. Louis could do with Seal-It Concrete Sealant but needed to know specifically how this product would handle the destructive bacteria. This question led to the following, independent laboratory, findings.
BioBelt Laboratories of St. Peters, Missouri were contracted to determine what effect, if any, bacteria would have on concrete treated with Seal-It Concrete Sealant.
Two concrete cylinders that had been treated with Seal-It Concrete Sealant have microorganisms applied to them. Live bacteria were placed on 1 concrete cylinder; live fungi were placed on the second concrete cylinder. A third concrete cylinder was not treated with Seal-It Concrete Sealant and no microorganisms were placed on this cylinder.
Following progressively longer periods of time, each of the three concrete cylinders was “swabbed” as a method to collect any live organisms. These swabs were then placed in an environment where, if any were present, the organisms would multiply, and subsequently be detected.
As can be seen in the attached report from BioBelt Labs, no bacteria are present after any length of time, from 4 hours to 7 days, on the concrete cylinder which had been treated to the Seal-It Concrete Sealant.