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  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete
  • Corrosion Protection

Corrosion Resistant Concrete

Concrete is an ingenious building material, also because in combination with reinforcing steel it exhibits tremendous load-bearing capacity. The combination of steel and concrete has the advantage that under normal conditions the high pH value of concrete creates a passivating layer of iron hydroxides on the steel surface, which protects it from corrosion. Particularly steel, however, can be compromised in its durability of performance by the presence of moisture and salt.
Concrete Admixtures
Green roof with Sika PVC membrane installed on Ballycotton House in Cork, Ireland
  • Roofing
  • Green Roof
  • Sustainability

Which Type of Green Roof for Your Project?

Green roofs are not a new concept, but they have grown in popularity over the past decade as people aim to achieve more sustainable construction projects and utilise previously unused spaces, such as flat roofs.
Green Roof
Industrial floor coating with Sikafloor resin cementitious flooring system in food facility
  • Flooring
  • Industrial Flooring
  • Factory

Design Tips for Hygienic Floors in Food and Beverage Facilities

A functional and purpose-built floor is key to a safe and hygienic production environment in food and beverage facilities. Floors that are hygienic, non-slip, easy to clean, and durable provide a safe and attractive place to work. Choosing and installing the right floor are critical to every work environment. This article looks at getting it right the first time — achieving satisfactory and long-term flooring in a food processing environment.
Flooring
Industrial floor coating with Sikafloor resin cementitious flooring system in food facility
  • Flooring
  • Industrial Flooring
  • Factory
  • Sikafloor®

Slip Resistant Flooring in Food Industry for Employee Safety

Employee safety is one of the most important requirements for any workplace. Slips and falls are among the most common injuries at work. They account for about 86% of total injuries, and 90% of these happen because the floor is wet. These injuries are particularly prevalent in the food industry, where they occur four times more often than the average in other industries. Injuries can create significant impacts to all involved. The most significant is the suffering and possible disabling of the person injured. The next is impact on the company — financial, loss of key staff, loss of productivity, and liability.
Flooring
Hygienic floor and wall coating in hospital made with Sika coating systems
  • Flooring
  • Wall Coating
  • Healthcare

Hygienic floors, walls and ceilings in hospitals and other healthcare facilities

Infection prevention and control is of utmost importance in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Building owners, facilities managers, healthcare architects and all others involved in healthcare design decisions need to consider how the materials used within a building contribute to this issue.
Flooring
Intumescent material for fire protection
  • Construction
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Corrosion Protection
  • Passive Fire Protection

Intumescence and Intumescent Materials for Fire Protection Products

Many passive fire protection products are claimed to be intumescent – what does this mean and when can a product be classed as intumescent?
Fire Protection
Fireman extinguish the fire with water
  • Construction
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Corrosion Protection
  • Passive Fire Protection

International Standards and Classifications for Fire Testing

Sika’s passive fire protection solutions are designed to be able to seal all different types of building joints and penetrations, in order to help keep fire in defined compartments for a certain period of time, thereby allowing people to evacuate safely. Sika passive fire protection solutions comply with the most relevant national and international standards (including EN, UL, EAD (ETAG), ASTM, AS, Certifire), in order to confirm that they meet the highest fire resistance requirements and consequently can help save people’s lives.
Fire Protection
Steel metal fire protection coating black background
  • Construction
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Corrosion Protection
  • Passive Fire Protection

Fire Protective Coatings for Load-Bearing Structures

Passive fire protection is a vital component of any fire safety strategy for buildings. Built into the structure, it safeguards people’s lives and limit the financial impact of damage to buildings and their contents. Sika provides comprehensive solutions for fire resistant constructions such as tunnels, commercial and residential buildings and steel structures especially. Fire resistant coatings for load bearing structures enable to build secure buildings.
Fire Protection
Fire resistance illustration of Insulation (I)
  • Construction
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Sealant
  • Corrosion Protection
  • Passive Fire Protection

Linear Seals, Cavity Barriers and Service Penetration Seals

Sika provides comprehensive solutions where fire resistant construction is required such as commercial, public and residential buildings, steel structures and others. Fire resistant sealants, fillers and backing materials for linear seals as well as solutions for penetration seals enable safer buildings and infrastructure to be built. Passive fire protection applications for compartmentations can be divided into the following three main groups: linear joint seals, cavity barriers, penetration seals.
Fire Protection
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete

Alkali-Silica-Reaction Resistant Concrete

Major infrastructure projects such as dams, roadways or airport runways require enormous quantities of aggregates, sought in closest proximity to construction sites. Some aggregates can exhibit an increased or high risk of ASR. Alkali-Silica-Reaction is a chemical reaction which occurs between the amorphous silica in the aggregate and the pore solution (alkalis) of the cement matrix.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete

Fire Resistant Concrete

The danger of fire is present always and everywhere. The imminent danger depends upon actual exposure, and naturally differs if the threatened construction is a pedestrian subway, a roadway tunnel or a subterranean garage in a skyscraper. Concrete is the loadbearing material in nearly all built structures and is therefore at high risk, since the entire structure would collapse upon its material failure.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete

Abrasion Resistant Concrete

Awe-inspiring gorges and valleys are nature’s testimony to the undeniable strength of water. Primarily in technical hydraulic engineering, but also in traffic zones with high loads or hard rolling bodies, concrete surfaces experience considerable and at times extremely abrasive forces. The mechanisms of damage thereby depend centrally on the type of burden.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete

Sulfate Resistant Concrete

Particularly in underground construction, concrete structures are exposed alongside loads and wear of decade-long use to influences emerging from the sub grade such as permanent mechanical stresses and aggressive water.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Watertight Concrete

Chemical Resistant Concrete

Water is the source of all life as well as a scarce commodity. Clean drinking water should therefore be protected against contamination, while waste water must be treated before being released into a discharge system. The waste water itself as well as the treatment measures undertaken represent an exposure to chemicals for concrete surfaces.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture

Improved Concrete Performance with Fibres

Specific concrete characteristics are obtained by using different fibre types, or mixtures of different fibres, depending on what the performance requirements are. Longer high E-modulus fibres are used to achieve high energy absorption, whilst longer low E-modulus fibres are used for increased ductility and crack reduction.
Concrete Admixtures
in color
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixture

3D Concrete Printing

Cementitious 3D construction printing (3DCP) or 3D concrete printing is a form of additive manufacturing used to fabricate buildings or construction components in completely new shapes not previously possible with traditional concrete formwork.
Concrete Admixtures
Synthetic micro fibers used for concrete production to reduce early-age shrinkage cracking and improve fire resistance
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixture

Fibre Types

Different fibre types are used to deliver different performance requirements. Short, thin synthetic fibres are used for fire protection and crack reduction, whilst long synthetic or steel fibres generally come into play to increase energy absorption. One size doesn’t always fit all, and special requirements demand special fibre materials and shapes – Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) requires short fibres with a high E-modulus, for example. Sika provides solutions for all these eventualities, as well as other special types and blends of fibres.
Concrete Admixtures
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Construction
  • Concrete Admixture

Standards and Testing

The performance and characteristics of fibre-reinforced concrete need to be tested with methods tailored to suit the specific end application, to make sure it can be used safely in future specifications. These test methods are now fully-standardised internationally through the European Standards (EN), as well as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Concrete Admixtures
Illustration
  • Joint Sealing
  • Roofing Membranes
  • Construction
  • Residential
  • Industry
  • Flooring
  • Roofing
  • Concrete Admixtures
  • Waterproofing
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Joint Sealing
  • Modular Construction

A Material Supplier’s Responsibility to Offsite Construction and Modular Builders

There is a great deal of conversation in the media relating to offsite construction, modular buildings and modern methods of construction - the success of this approach is key to the future success of our construction industry. The challenge for component or material suppliers is to be able to transfer their ideas and knowledge to the specifiers and manufacturers.
Modular Construction
  • Roofing
  • Green Roof
  • Sustainability

How Do Green Roofs Work?

Green roofs work by creating a roofing surface that allows for vegetation to grow and water to drain through. They absorb rainwater through the build-up of plants, soil, and drainage layer down to the waterproofing membrane and substrate.
Green Roof
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