highstrength grout with important operational advantages. The material can
be shipped and stored in silos rather than
bags, facilitating quayside storage in all
weathers as well as more flexibility in
deck layout and omitting the requirement
for bag or container lifting during grouting operations and dockside resupplies.
According to BASF, the material offers a number of superior properties,
including extremely low autogenous
shrinkage and excellent early strength
development, even at cold temperatures,
and high fatigue resistance. When combined with its operational advantages,
these properties have the potential to
provide significant reductions in grouting time cost optimization for the foundations installation, whilst ensuring the
durability of the grouted connection.
“FoundOcean recognized a need
amongst its customers for a material that
could provide high early strength development and low temperature performance, yet also offer increased efficiency,
safety and cleanliness,” said managing director Jim Bell on the motivation behind
the joint development.
It also allows for the use of an
upgraded version of FoundOcean’s
Recirculating Jet Mixer (RJM). The delivery rates when using an RJM are upwards of 20 cubic meters per hour and as
such faster grouting of the annulus can
be achieved, saving valuable offshore operating days. The closed circuit between
the silo and RJM, along with the continuous mixing process, also minimizes
overage, as well as reducing dust.
Flowcrete Releases New
Epoxy Flooring System
Flowcrete has recently launched
Flowcoat ESD, which has been designed
to provide environments looking to establish controlled electrostatic protected
areas (EPAs) with a high-performance
flooring option that will prevent potentially hazardous static charge build up.
The reformulated 100 percent solids
epoxy system fulfills the three criteria
relating to flooring as outlined in ANSI/
ESD S20.20, which requires a system re-
sistance of a person through the floor and
to ground of less than 35 megohms. This
makes it ideal for locations where elec-
trostatic discharge is a serious cause for
concern, such as in laboratories that need
to protect sensitive electrical equipment
or in areas where flammable materials
are handled and in which a fire safe floor
is required to prevent static becoming an
ignition source.
“Flowcoat ESD combines a popular epoxy system, that has repeatedly
proven itself within some of the most
intense industrial environments, with
highly effective antistatic technology,”
said Flowcrete Americas managing director, Dave McNeece. “Facilities managers
know that just walking across the floor
of a processing environment can cause
a charge to build up, meaning that this
otherwise harmless activity can create a
potentially dangerous problem. Site owners and operators can rest assured that
the electrostatic dissipative properties of
Flowcoat ESD will continuously work to
safeguard their site from electrostatic discharge concerns.”
PPG Introduces
DURAFORM DR Polyester
Coatings for Garage, Entry
Doors
PPG Industries’ coil and building products group has introduced DURAFORM
DR coating, a next-generation polyester
coil coating engineered specifically for
garage and entry door applications.
Designed for two-coat application on
aluminum or cold-rolled steel, Duraform
DR coating is formulated with PPG’s
proprietary star-shaped polyester polymer to provide superior hardness, increased flexibility and other performance
benefits compared to conventional polyester coating systems. The technology
also enables greater processing flexibility,
including wide cure parameters and better flow characteristics, to reduce inherent applied costs for garage and entry
door manufacturers.
The polymer formulation for
Duraform DR coating is modified to
offer excellent abrasion resistance and
paintability for garage and entry doors,
which can increase their durability
and colorfastness. The coating incor-
porates long-lasting ceramic pigments
to provide an extended gloss
range along with a rich variety
of colors, including stain-like
finishes that mimic the look of
wood grain.
Brian Knapp, PPG director, coil and
building products, said the ability to
formulate Duraform coatings for specific applications gives customers a
competitive advantage. “Garage and
entry door manufacturers are always
looking for ways to differentiate their
products from the competition,” he explained. “The ability of these coatings
to meet the unique demands of their
industry, including providing better
abrasion resistance, hardness, flexibility and color retention, enables them
to do so.”
Valspar Launches Graffiti-
Resistant System Protecting
All Coil & Extrusion
Coatings
Valspar Corp. has recently developed an
ASTM-compliant graffiti-resistant sys-
tem, which has been tested and approved
for all Valspar Coil and Extrusion build-
ing products. Valspar has aligned with
Graffiti Removal Services (GRS) to create
a sustainable, cost-effective system.
“The combination of our high-per-
formance coatings and Graffiti Removal
Services’ tested and approved envi-
ronmentally safe cleaning system can
help save building owners significant
costs of repainting or replacing panels,”
Alexander added. “We are pleased to
work with Graffiti Removal Services to
offer our customers a fast and cost-effec-
tive removal solution.” CW
