Bridges

Bridges are high-tech structures. They have to be durable, stable and offer an extensive service lifetime. Consequently, the requirements placed on the concrete used in their construction are very high. The fresh concrete has to be capable of retaining good consistency for long application times. It also has to be particularly easy-flowing and even self-compacting. The cured concrete must be exceptionally strong, as well as resistant to weathering, frost, de-icing salts and ageing – while also exhibiting an excellent surface finish. In short, bridges need concrete capable of meeting the most exacting demands.

With systems of long-proven value such as Centrament or Muraplast, and with the perfect combination of liquefaction and ruggedness offered by the new-generation MC-TechniFlow and MC-PowerFlow products, you have at your disposal the best admixture solutions for your bridge constructions – whether erected using prefabricated concrete components or cast in situ using ready-mixed concrete.

The forces exerted by groundwater can be enormous and often unpredictable. Water is able to penetrate into the foundations of columns, piers and bearings through a multitude of channels. It is therefore vital to implement professional, reliable waterproofing of the structure to ensure its permanent protection.

From the decades-proven polymer-modified thick bituminous coatings of the Nafuflex family to the new bitumen-free hybrid waterproofing sealants of the Expert Proof range, you can be sure to find the best possible solution for reliable, seamless, jointless, flexible sealing to suit every application.

The modular surface protection range of the MC-Color family reliably provides long-term protection of the concrete used in new bridge constructions against weathering, environmental attack and high traffic volumes, not to mention deliberate disfigurement, defacement and graffiti.  The systems also serve to upgrade components by providing a dash of colour. With the three product lines MC-Color Proof, MC-Color Flair and MC-Color Flex and the nine variants available, you are sure to find a solution ideally suited to each application, whether transparent, pigmented, crack-bridging, graffiti repelling or in various combinations.

Bridge structures of concrete and masonry require tailor-made repair and surface protection systems, capable of combating the kinds of deterioration that inevitably arise due to their exposed location and protracted in-service periods.

Nafufill KM 230 and  Nafufill KM 250 are concrete replacement systems capable of meeting any specification. Their technical performance exceeds every established standard, offering you maximum quality assurance. For large-area rehabilitation work that – for reasons of cost-effectiveness – allows the application of the dry spray process,  Nafufill GTS is the optimal solution.

Surface protection systems are essential for ensuring that concrete – whether new or repaired – remains intact and presentable over the long term. The range of destructive phenomena that can occur includes not just weathering, environmental attack and the dynamic loading caused by moving traffic, but also more and more deliberate acts of disfigurement, with graffiti a particular scourge. However, the MC-Color modular surface protection product range allows you to put truly effective safeguards in place with its three product lines, MC-Color Proof, MC-Color Flair and MC-Color Flex. You can be sure of a solution for every application profile: transparency, pigmented, crack-bridging and graffiti repelling.

MC-Color also offers system solutions for the direct curing of concrete replacement compounds to ensure fast and cost-efficient job execution.

It is no rarity for cracks in reinforced concrete bridges to propagate down deep to the rebar, even causing separation of the entire component. Over time, cavities and voids may also develop. Harmful substances such as water or chlorides are then able to penetrate unhindered down to the core of the structure, causing significant damage that ultimately jeopardises the stability of the entire bridge assembly.

With our MC-Injekt systems, you can seal cracks, joints, cavities and voids in bridge components reliably and durably, rehabilitating the structure in terms of both its functional efficiency and service lifetime.

Many aging bridges lose some of their load-bearing strength due to deterioration, corrosion or damage to their original reinforcing steel. Now, restoring them to structural soundness can be remarkably inexpensive thanks to  MC-DUR CFK carbon-fibre reinforced strips or sheets.

Even flexural reinforcement is easily handled, with strips bonded either in slots or on the surface. In contrast to conventional rehabilitation systems, these solutions have virtually no effect on passage clearance. Railway or road traffic headroom under bridges remains unimpaired, which means no diversions are necessary. And if required, you can also render your  MC-DUR CFK strips invisible by applying a coat of  Nafufill LM fine filler and the surface protection coating MC-Color Flair, for additional protection and a visual upgrade.

As masonry is often constructed from large-scale bricks or blocks without movement joints, any deformations arising from dynamic loading or thermal effects have to be absorbed by the masonry itself. This means the jointing material is particularly important: It has to be sufficiently yielding while exhibiting sufficient strength to ensure a permanent bond between the bricks or blocks. The mineralogical composition of masonry mortars and injection adhesives is also important when it comes to withstanding masonry-specific chemical attack.

Oxal joint mortars and injection adhesives offer long-proven solutions to the specific requirements of masonry.

As large horizontal surfaces on bridges, carriageway decking slabs are prone to attack by environmental phenomena such as water and de-icing salt. It is therefore essential that these slabs are properly sealed. The purely bitumen-based systems of the past do not meet today’s requirements. Satisfactory results are only achieved through the application of an initial waterproofing layer of epoxy resin covered by a bituminous wearing course. Our special bridge resin  MC-DUR LF 480 offers optimum adhesion to both concrete and bitumen and can be applied as a primer, waterproofing barrier and a scratch and levelling filler. It has also been tested compatible for applications such as a PC mortar, offering optimum application properties and facilitating fast construction progress.