Vector Awarded Best Business Practices 2009
As announced in their May/June 2009 issue, Vector Construction Group was awarded Best Business Practices 2009 by the Manitoba Business Magazine. “In the DNA of any successful company you’ll find quality management firing on all cylinders. In the case of Vector Construction Group, management skills led the company’s gradual evolution from a straight forward road building firm to its new existence as a major concrete restoration company with an international clientele and a staff of about 250.” (read more).
Cementitious Matrix is Used to Bond High-Strength Polymeric Mesh to Concrete and Masonry, Fallis
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) systems are now widely used for retrofit and repair of concrete and masonry. The development of these systems has allowed repair and strengthening projects to be performed that, in the past, would not have been possible. Their benefits are well known and include a high ratio of strength to added weight, high durability, and ease and flexibility of installation.
FRP systems, however, are not without their drawbacks. Recently, Ruredil introduced a new fiber-reinforcement system that maintains the benefits of traditional FRP systems while overcoming some of their drawbacks. This product consists of a polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) mesh (Ruredil X Mesh Gold) and a stabilized, inorganic, cementitious mortar matrix (Ruredil X Mesh M750) designed to connect the mesh to concrete and masonry substrates. The unique structure of the PBO fiber allows it to bond directly to the mortar matrix, eliminating the need for an epoxy resin to bond the fiber to the concrete or masonry substrate. (read more)
Visit with Vector at Ohio Bridge Conference
Vector Corrosion Technologies will be exhibiting at the at the Ohio Bridge Conference sponsored by the County Engineers Association of Ohio. Come by our booth to learn about corrosion mitigation options to extend the life of concrete bridges. The show is August 12-13, 2009 in Columbus.
Long-term Performance and Versatility of Zinc Sacrificial Anodes for Control of Reinforcement Corrosion, Sergi, Simpson & Potter
Since its development in the mid-nineties, numerous installations of the Fosroc zinc sacrificial anode have been carried out in repairs to steel reinforced concrete structural elements suffering from corrosion. From these, more than a dozen sites have been thoroughly monitored in the UK and worldwide. Results so far have been very encouraging with current densities ranging between 0.8 mA/m2 and 10 mA/m2 of steel surface depending on the type of application which includes cathodic prevention, corrosion control and cathodic protection. These levels of currents were shown to be sufficient to overcome any further visible corrosion of the steel reinforcement extending the service life of the repairs significantly. Some of the early trials have been monitored for nearly ten years now. This presents an opportunity for the results to be analysed and the performance of the sacrificial anodes to be critically assessed medium to long term. This paper reviews the performance of the anodes in terms of current output and steel polarisation levels over the years. The prospects of a further recently developed improved sacrificial anode system achieving substantially improved performance are reviewed and discussed. (read more)
Corrosion of Steel in Concrete & Assessment Techniques, Sergi
Concrete is a porous material whose pores contain an electrolyte made up primarily of sodium and potassium hydroxides. Steel reinforcement is normally protected in such an electrolyte owing to the formation of a dense and uniform passive oxide film. Carbonation of the concrete (neutralisation of the alkali constituents by CO2 gas from the atmosphere), or infestation of the concrete with salt from seawater or from deicing agents leads to the breakdown of the protective oxide film and to corrosion of the steel. Corrosion of steel in concrete is an electrochemical process whereby anodic and cathodic reactions occur simultaneously on the surface of the steel resulting in the dissolution of the metal at the anodic sites. (read more)
