Durability through Chemisty

New and exciting materials are entering the market almost daily.  Making high strength composites of concrete and space age materials will enhance durability and longevity that we haven’t seen since the Roman Empire.

One of the leading causes of concrete failure is minute cracks that let moisture in to the concrete such that steel reinforcing bars corrode.  It is not a pretty site.  On the left is an advance case of salt water corrosion and on the right is the short list of things that impact UHMWPE fibers.

Seawater Corroded Pier
The list of things that do NOT affect UHWMPE fibers is long so it saves a lot of time to point out the short list of things that do have some impact.  This is a list of substances that have slight impact, except for two.
  • Methyl chloride 
  • Ozone
  • Toluene
  • Trichloroethylene
  • Xylem
  • Benzene sulfuric acid; moderate
  • Flourine; moderate

On the right side is a steel reinforced structure where the list of things that seriously damage it starts with water, salt, and just gets longer from there.