DynaCrete® Technical Information

Testing

At DynaCrete® USA, we strive to provide our customers with the very best products for any particular application. The only way we can maintain the stringent requirements of contractors, engineers, architects, and homeowners, is to continually be looking for ways to improve. Our products are put through strict testing processes so that our customers can always trust the product which we have recommended.
Our testing is always performed by
independent, accredited laboratories This insures that our customers can get the information they need from a source they can trust.

Here are just a few examples-

Testing is a constantly ongoing process, so updates are always being made. Please check with us for data pertaining to your particular project.

AASHTO T259- Resistance To Chloride Ion Penetration

ASTM C1202-97- Electrical indication of concrete's ability to resist chloride ion penetration

ASTM C1353-Taber Abrasion Resistance

ShotCrete testing

Manufacturing

DynaCrete® products are manufactured in Canada, by Univar-Canada under the close supervision of DynaCrete® International, at a state of the art, ISO 9002 certified blending and packaging plant. This allows us to provide you with the highest quality products that you need and expect, as well as batch documentation to provide you with top-notch record keeping.
All products are currently available in 5 gallon pails and
55 gallon drums. Large quantities are available for delivery in tankers, either truck or rail.

NEW FOR 2004!!!

For architects and engineers, we are proud to offer:

CSI formatted Construction Guide Specifications, for your convenience. Click Here!

These are available either as Adobe PDF® or editable

MS Word® files!

Dilution	none, use as supplied
Freeze Temperature	32 degrees Fahrenheit
Freeze Harm	n/a
Boiling Point	n/a
Coverage	n/a
Shelf Life	n/a
Solvent For Clean-up	n/a
Color of Solution	n/a
Color when applied	n/a
Odor	n/a
Toxicity	n/a
Flammability	n/a
Fumes During Treatment	n/a
Organic Properties	n/a
Environmental Hazards	n/a
Polermerized Content	n/a

Top contractors, architects and engineers know the destructive results when masonry and cementitious surfaces are not properly treated and protected. Yet, property owners and maintenance personnel often overlook or are not aware of this construction deficiency until the structures visibly appear to crumble, deteriorate, or show signs of disintegration.

The penetration of rains, the water-borne contaminants therein, salts, oils, etc., along with freeze-thaw cycles, entering the pores of the concrete are known to cause extensive damage. These pores act like tubes or canals that carry damaging substances below the surface (often to saturate the entire structure) which create major deterioration problems to the concrete structure.

When a concrete structure is treated the DynaCrete® PIM+ (Penetrating Internal Membrane) These types of problems can be greatly reduced or eliminated all together.

DynaCrete® PIM+ (Penetrating Internal Membrane) is a scientifically designed, cost efficient, uniquely penetrating preservative which waterproofs, seals, cures, hardens and strengthens most old and new masonry and cementitious substrates.

The benefits arising from the use of DynaCrete® PIM+ will outperform and outlast every other sealant on the market.

DynaCrete® PIM+ is a water-based, non-toxic, non-flammable, odorless, clear, and water soluble liquid compound.

DynaCrete® PIM+ uses the alkali within the concrete, chemically bonding with and to the concrete internally. PIM+ cannot aerate or deteriorate, thus giving the concrete a permanent, one time only, treatment.

According to the U.S. Testing Laboratories, the interior of a piece of concrete contains a minimum of 362 times the amount of alkali as compared to the surface area. DynaCrete® PIM+ which permeates into the concrete and chemically reacts with the alkali, becomes a permanent part of the concrete, not just a surface coating.

Other sealers, even “penetrating sealers” are surface treatments only, and by their own chemical compositions, will react negatively with the moisture and alkali in the concrete and soon deteriorate or peel off due to this aeration. If there is foot or vehicle traffic, surface sealers will also be subject to wear. This greatly shortens the effective life of such surface sealers.

Foreign matter such as acids, alkali, oils, salts, and other various substances can be very destructive to concrete. Once inside the concrete, various forms of deterioration result over time.

The penetrating PIM+ reacts with alkali in the moisture on the surface of the voids and particulate, to form a sticky gel which is forced by capillary action (and an attraction to dampness), into the voids and canals. As it does so, it encounters more alkali rich moisture, forms more gummy gel, coating the walls of the larger voids and canals, completely filling smaller ones. This process repeats itself until the concrete is thoroughly and permanently sealed. Yet, DynaCrete® PIM+ allows the sealed concrete to breathe. This process also will float any foreign matter inside those canals and voids (oils, salts, acids, etc.) to the surface where they can be flushed away.

DynaCrete® PIM+ has been tested, approved, and used all over the world, including;

Canada: The Ontario Research Foundation, Cementitious Materials Laboratory, 1977

Professional Service Industries, Inc., Pittsburgh testing laboratory Division, 1192

Thousands of private construction and engineering corporations, 1964 to present.

Asia Guangdong province (China) Transportation Construction Quality Testing Center, 1996

Hong Kong, Many private construction and engineering corporation (project specific)
tests.

The use of DynaCrete® PIM+ save costly maintenance, repair and replacement expense. It will permanently waterproof and harden concrete to where it will virtually eliminate wear due to abrasion. It will strengthen weak, structurally unsound concrete substantially. When all the benefits of it’s uses are evaluated, PIM+ has shown itself to be the most cost efficient treatment available for concrete.

For these reasons, DynaCrete® PIM+ has been used all over the world since 1918 From Disney World and the cooling towers of the Palo Verdes, Surprise, Az. Nuclear Power Plant, to the Autobahn and war infrastructure built by Germany before WWll, to (kilometer long) bridge decks in Sweden, to tunnels in Sydney, Australia, to dams in BC and over 250,000 applications alone to public facilities such as schools, hospitals, etc.

Cement gel is a jelly-like swelling that occurs around each grain of Portland cement when water is added to concrete mix. Aggregate gel is essentially the same. It is the reaction between cement and water. The gel is the controlling factor in cracking, uniformity, and the structural quality of concrete. Cement gel relates to the size of the voids, canals and pores in concrete.

The cement gel imparts fatty and cohesive properties to the mix. As hydration of the cement proceeds, the gel partly crystallizes and, on drying, reverts to almost the original cement grain size.

Gel sizes and hydration can vary widely, depending upon water available and temperature. It is these variations throughout the concrete which causes variations in the quality and porosity of concrete for a given mix design.

In the heat of summer, gels form faster and larger, and large gels absorb more water from the mix. The resulting concrete has poorer quality . As water is consumed by hydration and rapidly lost through evaporation, internal stresses are created. The eventual results are shrinkage cracks.

In cooler weather, gel formation is retarded. Smaller gels are formed, take longer to form, consume less water, and as a result less water is required. Because hydration is slower, less shrinkage occurs, concrete is more dense, and usually has a higher structural quality.

DynaCrete® PIM+, due to it’s chemical reaction forming a silica aero gel, aids in retaining the water in the concrete during the hydration/curing process, resulting in a high quality concrete.

For this specific application, using DynaCrete® PIM+ as a cure for new concrete, a coverage rate of approximately 60– 125 square feet per gallon is recommended depending on when during the 24 hours subsequent to pouring the concrete, the PIM+ is applied. As soon as the finished concrete can be walked on without leaving marks; coverage would be at approximately 60-125 square feet per gallon while if applied at 24 hours after the start of the pour; coverage would be approximately 125-150 square feet per gallon.

“Capillarity” is the transmission of moisture and water in masonry. By definition, it is the action by which the surface of a liquid, where it is in contact with a solid, is elevated or depressed (rises and falls). The elevation or depression is caused by capillary action. By capillary action, moisture may travel from a lower to higher elevation or can travel in any direction.

The amount of moisture that can be transmitted from the ground by capillary action is often underestimated if understood at all. Tests by the Housing and Home Finance Agency (US Government) Forest Products Laboratory have clearly indicated that as much as 12 gallons of water per 1000 square feet per day can be transmitted through a concrete slab and if permitted, evaporate into the air.

When the slab is covered by floor covering, this moisture will carry alkalis, salts, or additives from the concrete. This will collect under the floor covering and attack the bond of the adhesive or fastening system, resulting in the deterioration and eventual destruction of same.

The same principal also applies to vertical concrete, where fog, dew and dampness can collect causing paint and other sealants to deteriorate, peel or wear off prematurely.

The height to which water can rise (from the ground) by capillary action is also underestimated. Test by the same US authority above indicate the moisture can climb from a water table that may be 20 feet below the ground or slab. Obviously, general ground dampness will speed up the transmission of moisture still more so.

DynaCrete® PIM+ due to it’s unique penetrating capabilities, and it’s gel-forming chemical reaction with alkali filling the voids and creating a solid mass, and it’s ability to hold a hydrostatic head, will eliminate the problems associated with capillary action or “capillarity”.

A simple test can establish the amount of PIM+ required to solve the problem; After your first application of PIM+, tape down several pieces of ordinary dry sponge or foam rubber to the treated surface. After 24 hours, under normal conditions, the underside of the sponge will appear dry when removed, and the job is complete. However, if the slab is not yet sealed, the underside will be damp when lifted, and in extreme problem areas of excessive moisture and seepage the sponge will be damp to wet. When this occurs it is an indication the treatment must be repeated as many times as is necessary until sponge is dry after 24 hours.

The DynaCrete® PIM+ treatment is now permanent. No other waterproofing treatment will EVER be necessary.

Technical Report No.6- The “Alkali Problem” (in concrete walls and sub-floors)

Alkali is never pure and rarely stable. It is made up of a combination of elements and almost always reacts with other elements or chemicals.

We start with hydrogen, then lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium, and francium. Francium is radioactive with a half life of only 20 minutes. The other five are very active alkali metals. Each has molecules with electrons which are always eager to take part in chemical reactions with other elements. The two most “important” alkali metals are sodium and potassium. We find hints of them in potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. Sodium make up 2.5% of the earth’s crust, potassium about the same, yet we never see them They are always found in combination with other elements. Neither could remain in a pure state in air or moisture.

The increased use of concrete sub-floors in direct contact with the ground makes it more important than ever to completely understand the moisture and alkali inherent in these sub-floors and their effects on paints and floor coverings.

Well known as the “alkali problem”, this condition primarily a problem of moisture. Alkali is present in every concrete slab and is more detrimental when moisture is present. On adequately ventilated suspended concrete sub-floors, moisture will not be present in troublesome quantities. However, when the slab is in direct contact with the ground or a poorly ventilated air space, moisture is brought up to and through the slab as a result of capillary action. It dissolves the alkaline salts in the concrete and they appear on the surface as a destructive alkaline solution causing spalling and efflorescence.

Although moisture and alkali problems can vary greatly, there is always sufficient moisture in the ground and alkali in concrete to present an “alkali problem” on sub-floors. It is never safe to assume that a concrete slab will always be dry because it has been dry until now. When paint or floor coverings are applied, even a small, undetected amount of moisture can cause coverings to warp, buckle or separate from the concrete surface.

DynaCrete® PIM+ will alleviate this problem by sealing, waterproofing and moisture proofing the concrete slab, eliminating spalling and efflorescence, leaving clean surfaces similar to “etching” to which paint or mastics and adhesives can effectively secure a better bond (to).

DynaCrete® PIM+ treatment will eliminate these destructive, moisture and alkali related problems FOREVER.

The following is a quotation from Chemistry and Technology of Paints, by Maximilian Toch, published by D. Ban Nostrand Co., New York, New York:

“Portland cement is a rock-like alkaline lime substance composed of sand and/or gravel mixed with cement and water. In attempting to apply paints, adhesives or floor coverings, is recommended to clean the surface first. These surfaces are then cleaned with muriatic, sulphuric or acetic acids. The application of these acids to Portland cement destroys the cement because they dissolve out the lime and leave the sand and aggregate loosely bound.

Portland cement floors dust up merely under the abrasion of (shoe) heels. Factories that have machinery, calculators, electronic, or delicate instruments have found it impossible to operate under such dusting conditions To alleviate these conditions, paint or floor coverings are used”

The above quotation is used to illustrate that concrete alone causes a multitude of problems. Coatings such as paint and floor coverings are used in an attempt to alleviate or enhance the use of masonry. However, such coatings have proven completely ineffectual when excessive moisture or alkali contents are present.

Concrete dusting (small particles of the surface broken free) is caused by any vehicular, foot, machinery, and other traffic over the concrete surface. Dusting is a costly foe to efficiency due to damages it causes to machinery, merchandise, other equipment , and environmental health.

In extreme situations dusting can be classed as wear due to abrasion (i.e. high traffic areas like bridge decks, parkades, stairs, etc.) and the result can be costly premature replacement of the surface or structure.

DynaCrete® PIM+’s chemical reaction with alkali and lime causes the independent particles of concrete to solidify. This hardens and strengthens the concrete and gives the concrete the ability to stop the penetration or transmission of moisture.

PIM+ properly and adequately applied will greatly reduce, if not permanently eliminate dusting and abrasion due to wear FOREVER, and can eliminate the necessity of a floor covering.

Floor covering failures are caused by one or more of the following, alone or in combination.

To apply asphalt, vinyl or rubber tiles and other floor coverings, there’s usually required in the “site preparation”, a removal of contaminants and loose particulate/dust from the surface to be covered. Mastic or adhesives of some kind must usually be applied in order to bond the covering to the surface.

We are aware of the make-up of concrete and the problems built into using it, in the form of alkali, lime and moisture. We are aware of the factors of porosity and how the water used to mix the cement and aggregates evaporates during the long curing period leaving mass voids and pores through which moisture passes and mixes with the alkali.

When the slab is covered, the drawing action (from capillary action) on the moisture in and under the slab, is greatly increased. When this alkali– rich moisture is drawn up into contact with the adhesives, the following occurs; the adhesive emulsifies or starts to deteriorate, resulting in bubbles or blistering which cause warping, cracking, and peeling (off) of the adhesive and/or the cover, necessitating replacement of one or both, at substantial cost.

DynaCrete® PIM+, due to it’s internal chemical reaction caused gels, it’s ability to hold a hydrostatic head, and the fact PIM+ is nor a surface, but an internal sealer, will solve the problems related to the floor covering trade because PIM+ prevents moisture from being drawn up into contact with the adhesives or mastics FOREVER.

Please Note: It must not be overlooked by applicators that DynaCrete® PIM+ is an internal sealer, and as such, the surface to be treated cannot be so, unless it is bare The surface must be free of any surface coating or contaminant prior to application of PIM+

Why do paints blister or crack on concrete surfaces? It is due to a problem called saponification. (soap creation)

When soap is manufactured, the basic ingredients are a form of alkali and oil. The combination of alkali in the concrete and the oil in some paints causes saponification, which is usually seen in the form of flaking, blistering, and peeling of the paint surface.

Even the much improved vinyl, rubber and latex based paints tend to peel and crack off the surface.

The prime reason for this is the alkali and lime are still “fighting” the paint. If these coatings are being used to seal or waterproof the surface, they will need to be reapplied periodically to be effective, requiring costly stripping before each re-application, or the formation of many layers of material in various states of decomposition. Such multiple layers will not allow the concrete floor to breathe, and if concrete can not breathe it will decompose and disintegrate.

The application of DynaCrete® PIM+ to concrete surfaces will give a permanently alkali and moisture free surface for the better bonding of paints. When applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions, the paint life on the PIM+ treated surface can be increased by 300%, providing a longer “fresh paint” appearance and reducing maintenance costs.

Close examination of the concrete surface after DynaCrete® PIM+ is applied, and the surface washed, will reveal clean pores. In many cases the PIM+ has the same effect as “etching” which is usually required prior to application of paints and adhesives, for better bonding.

Any surface treatment or coating must be removed prior to applying PIM+, or the PIM+ will not be able to penetrate the surface. On occasion, foreign matter like oils, and grease will be floated to the surface by the PIM+ as it penetrates the concrete. This foreign matter should be flushed off with water prior to painting. In areas where there is an excessive amount of foreign matter, several cycles of flushing, drying, then flushing again, may be required.

With respect to wall sweating, it should be remembered that surfaces of most common concrete building materials have an affinity for water molecules. This molecular film is proportionate to the relative humidity. At saturation levels, all voids, pores and capillaries can become completely filled. When the atmospheric conditions, inside or outside, (which caused the excessive moisture in the first place) is alleviated, the porous wall may become filled to saturation with moisture in liquid form.

This condition then provides an excellent opportunity for (water) vapor travel within a wall or structure. In it’s travels, the vapor may strike a cold(er) area or dew point and condense in sufficient quantities to reach the interior wall surfaces and appear as wall sweat or bleeding. Both sweating and the condensation, which causes it, can be greatly effected by temperature, humidity, wind velocity, soil and ground moisture conditions, etc.

These conditions if allowed to go unchecked, can cause peeling paints, spalling, formation of mildew, and efflorescence resulting in heavy maintenance costs. All porous masonry materials will be subject to the same conditions unless the proper steps are taken to avoid such conditions.

The application of DynaCrete® PIM+ in the same manner as for waterproofing, will, due to it’s unique capabilities and results, stop these conditions which lead to wall sweating FOREVER.

DynaCrete PIM+

Flammability or Explosive Limits: Not Applicable Special Firefighting Procedures: None

Incompatible Materials: Do not mix with other chemicals Hazardous Polymerization: Will not occur

Eyes: May cause irritation and redness. Flush with cool, clean water for at least 15 minutes. If irritation persists, get medical attention.

Ingestion: Non-toxic, may cause gastro-intestinal problem. Do not induce vomiting. Dilute with large amounts of water and weak vinegar or orange juice. Get medical attention immediately.

With small spills or leaks use absorbent material such as a sawdust, vermiculite or sand. Larger spills dilute with large amounts of water, before flushing to a sewer or drain according to local, provincial or federal regulations.

Keep container closed when not in use. Store away from heat and do not freeze. Keep out of reach of children.

DynaCrete PTS+

Flammability or Explosive Limits: Not Applicable Special Firefighting Procedures: None

Incompatible Materials: Do not mix with other chemicals Hazardous Polymerization: Will not occur

· Eyes: May cause irritation and redness. Flush with cool, clean water for at least 15 minutes. If irritation persists, get medical attention.

· Ingestion: Non-toxic, may cause gastro-intestinal problem. Do not induce vomiting. Dilute with large amounts of water and weak vinegar or orange juice. Get medical attention immediately.

Keep container closed when not in use. Store away from heat and do not freeze. Keep out of reach of children.

DynaWood

Flammability or Explosive Limits: Not Applicable Special Firefighting Procedures: None

Incompatible Materials: Do not mix with other chemicals Hazardous Polymerization: Will not occur

· Eyes May cause irritation and redness. Flush with cool, clean water for at least 15 minutes. If irritation persists, get medical attention.

· Ingestion: Non-toxic, may cause gastro-intestinal problem. Do not induce vomiting. Dilute with large amounts of water and weak vinegar or orange juice. Get medical attention immediately.

Keep container closed when not in use. Store away from heat and do not freeze. Keep out of reach of children.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

DynaCrete® PC

Emergency Telephone in San Diego, USA: Hazardous Materials Division at 619-236-2222 or Cal-OSHA at 619-279-3771

Flammability or Explosive Limits: Not Applicable Special Firefighting Procedures: None

ACGIH Threshold Limit Value: Not established for mixture Carcinogen - NPT Program: No

Causes eye irritation upon direct contact. Skin contact may cause irritation, or burns in some cases. Inhalation of mist in high concentrations may be irritating to nose and throat. Ingestion may cause burns to mouth and throat.