Epoxy injection

welds cracks back together

But materials and methods must be right for the job
BY MYLES A. MURRA
PRESIDENT
RESTRUCTION CORPORATION
SEDALIA, COLORADO

W
ithin minutes, epoxy can
be injected 9 feet deep in-
to cracks as small as 0.002
inch wide. Within hours, this same
epoxy will surpass the compressive
and tensile strengths of the sur-
rounding concrete. Such effective
and easily attained results make
epoxy injection one of the most
common ways of repairing narrow
c ra c k s. It has been used to repair
cracks in buildings, bridges and
dams. To achieve such good results,
though, requires proper materials
and injection techniques and an
understanding of what epoxy injec- Low viscosity, insensitivity to moisture, high bond strength and compressive and
tensile strengths higher than those of concrete make epoxy injection one of the
tion can and cannot do.
most effective ways of repairing narrow cracks. Repairs are made by sealing the
The limitations surface of the crack, then injecting epoxy into it through ports spaced along the
crack.
Epoxy injection alone cannot
solve every crack problem. If a crack
is an active crack which continues tive to water. While moist cracks can e p ox y, the great amount of heat
to open or close, then the cause of be injected, contaminants in the that’s produced can cause the epoxy
the crack movement must be re- crack, including water, will reduce to boil or froth. To avoid this, seve ra l
moved or a control joint must be the effectiveness of typical epoxies. manufacturers have developed spe-
constructed in the area of the crack. If structural repair of the crack is not cial low-heat formulations for these
Ot h e rw i s e, the concrete will crack necessary, the best way to seal active applications. Large voids can also be
again nearby after the crack is in- leaks is by injecting a chemical injected with a flowable epoxy mor-
jected. Howe ve r, if the active crack grout (such as the polyurethane tar, or they can be prepacked with
causes no aesthetic harm, it can be grout described in the June 1984 is- graded aggregate then injected with
sealed instead with a low-modulus sue of Concrete Construction, page epoxy.
epoxy or other sealant which would 594). See Reference 1 for more infor-
mation. How to select an epoxy for
allow the crack to act as a control crack injection
joint. Normally, the low-viscosity epox-
Cracks which are actively leaking ies used in crack injection are not Epoxies used to inject cracks in
and cannot be dried out should not used to repair wide cracks or voids. concrete should meet the require-
be injected with epoxy unless the Low-viscosity epoxies are hard to ments for Type I epoxies described
epoxy is formulated to be insensi- confine. With larger volumes of in ASTM C 881 (Reference 2). Type I
 Types of epoxies for bonding be insensitive to moisture. Pot life,
hardened concrete to minimum curing temperature, and
hardened concrete color are also concerns. For the
most part, once epoxies have cured
Grade 1 Maximum the only variation in performance is
viscosity 20 poises in the amount of elongation they
Grade 2 Minimum can withstand. Unmodified epoxies
viscosity 20 poises permit less than 1 percent tensile
Maximum elongation, but the more common-
viscosity 100 poises
ly used modified epoxies permit 1 to
Grade 3 Maximum
consistency 1
⁄4 inch 5 percent. Flexural, tensile and com-
Class A For use below 40 ° F p re s s i ve strengths are usually not
Class B For use between 40° important because they almost al-
and 60° F ways exceed the values attainable by
Class C For use above 60° F concrete.
Minimum gel time 30 minutes Cracked concrete that remains at
Bond strength high temperatures must be injected
2 days with epoxy that can withstand these
(dry cure) 2000 psi high temperatures without soften-
14 days ing. The heat deflection temperature
(moist cure) 2000 psi
(HDT) is a measure of a plastic’s
Maximum 24-hour
absorption 1.5 percent ability to perform at elevated tem-
Shrinkage Passes peratures. Some epoxies now avail-
ASTM C 883 able have HDTs greater than 150 de-
grees F (Reference 4).
Figure 1. Width of the crack and
temperature of the concrete affect The procedure
which grade and class of epoxy to Cracks as narrow as 0.002 inch
use, as specified by ASTM C 881-78, can be bonded by epoxy injection.
“Standard Specification for Epoxy- The epoxy is injected under pres-
Resin-Base Bonding Systems for
sure into holes drilled at close inter-
Concrete” (Reference 2).
vals along the crack. The procedure
involves the following steps, based
on those originally described in Ref-
epoxies are designed for bonding erence 5.
hardened concrete to hardened 1. CLEAN THE CRACKS. Clean a l-
concrete. Three grades based on vis- inch-wide strip of concrete on each
cosity and consistency and three side of the crack and remove any
classes based on the range of tem- contamination in the crack by flush-
peratures for which they are suitable ing it out with high-pressure water.
are available (see Figure 1). Then blow out the water with com-
Viscosity is the property which pressed air or allow adequate time
can most affect the ease and extent for air drying or use a weed burner
of injection. Lower viscosity epoxies to accelerate drying.
are thinner and can penetrate 2. SEAL THE SURFACE OF EACH
smaller cracks. Viscosity is mea- CRACK. Brush a paste-like epoxy or
sured in centipoises (cps). Very fine polyester over the surface of each
cracks 0.010 inch wide or smaller crack and allow it to harden. This
should be injected with an epoxy of p re vents the liquid epoxy that is in-
500 cps (lightweight oil) or less (Ref- jected into the crack from leaking
erence 3). The viscosity of water, in out before it has gelled. If extremely
comparison, is 100 cps. high injection pressures are needed,
While viscosity is important, it is cut out the crack in a V-shape, fill it
not the only important property. Be- with epoxy and strike it off flush
cause moisture is present in many with the surface. Bond strength of
faults and is usually difficult to re- the epoxy seal can be enhanced by
move, the epoxy that’s used should first priming the concrete with a
low-viscosity resin that provides
maximum wetting action. On archi-
tectural concrete, cracks may be
sealed with wax but low pressure in-
jection procedures must be fol-
lowed.
3. INSTALL THE ENTRY PORTS.
Use one of these three ways:
• Fittings inserted in drilled holes.
Drill a l⁄2- or 3⁄4-inch-diameter hole
1
⁄2 to 1 inch below the bottom of
the V-shaped groove cut into the
crack. Then insert a pipe nipple,
tire valve stem or plastic injection
port in the hole and bond it with
an epoxy adhesive. Patented ny-
lon fittings used in one project
Figure 2. T-shaped injection ports can
be bonded over the top of the crack
without drilling holes. Injection ports
should be spaced so epoxy entering
one port penetrates the desired
amount before flowing out the next
port.
could carry 900 to 1200 psi capac-
ity even before the sealer was
placed over the crack (Reference
6). A vacuum chuck and bit or a
hollow carbide spade bit with a
special flushing swivel can help
remove the dust produced by
drilling.
• Bonded flush fitting. If the cracks
are not V-grooved, a T-shaped fit-
ting can be set over the crack and
bonded to the surrounding con-
crete (see Figure 2).
• Interruption in seal. Fittings are
not required when an injection
gun with a special gasket at the
 nozzle is used. Ports are provided
instead by simply omitting the
seal over parts of the crack. The
gasket allows the gun to inject
epoxy directly into the crack with-
out leaking.
In general, the finer the crack, the
closer the entry ports should be
spaced. Howe ve r, enough distance
should be left between ports to as-
sure that the epoxy injected into one
port will penetrate the desired
amount before flowing out the next
port. As a rule of thumb, the entry
ports should be spaced at a distance
equal to the desired penetration of
the epoxy but not exceeding the
thickness of the concrete or 12 inch-
es, whichever is less. For cracks less
than 0.01 inch wide, the spacing
should not exceed 6 inches and
p re f e rably not 4 inches (Re f e re n c e
3). If epoxy flow is good, injection
isn’t necessary at all ports; the inter-
mediate ports can be used to moni-
tor penetration.
4. MIX THE EPOXY. Epoxy may be
premixed or mixed in line. In pre-
mixing, the two epoxy components
are premixed according to the man-
ufacturer’s instructions, usually with
a mechanical stirrer like a paint mix-
ing paddle. In continuous in-line
mixing, the two liquid components
are premeasured and pumped
through an automatic mixing head.
5. INJECT THE EPOXY. Select the
injection pressure carefully. More
pressure may accelerate the rate of
injection but it also may cause more
damage.
For vertical cracks, Reference 5
suggests beginning epoxy injection
in the lowest entry port. When the
epoxy level reaches the next entry
port above, the lower injection port
is capped and the process is repeat-
ed at successively higher ports until
the crack has been completely filled.
Howe ve r, on one project (Reference
6), the contractor began injection
where the crack was broadest in the
belief that it is easier to fill a fine
crack from a wider segment of the
fault than the re ve r s e. Drainage in
this case was reportedly not a factor.
The epoxy was injected through a
port until back pressure was experi-
enced, even if this did not occur un-
til after epoxy appeared in seve ra l
other ports. The appearance of
epoxy in an adjacent port only
showed for certain that epoxy had
flowed from one hole to the next,
not how deeply it had penetrated
the crack. By continuing injection
until back pressure was experienced
at the pump, thorough penetration
of the epoxy was achieved on this
project.
For horizontal cracks, the injec-
tion should proceed from one end
of the crack to the other in the same
manner. When the pressure can be
maintained the crack is full. Howev-
er, many horizontal cracks are on
g ra d e. Some of the epoxy injected
into the crack will drain into the
ground, leaving a void in the upper
portion of the crack. To compensate
for the problem, the crack must be
reinjected until the crack is full and
remains full. Vertical cracks must be
reinjected, too, if the epoxy drains
out of the crack. This could happen
in a retaining wall or basement wall
which could not be sealed on one
side due to the earth backfill, or in
the wall of a swimming pool, or
even in a foundation wall with ac-
cess to both sides but not to the bot-
tom of the wall.
6. REMOVE THE SURFACE SEAL.
After the injected epoxy has cured,
the entry ports should be removed
and the holes should be painted
with an epoxy patching compound.
Unless appearance of the repair is
not a concern, the surface sealer
should be removed by grinding or
other appropriate means.
Equipment
Paint pressure pots can be used to
inject premixed epoxy or premixed
epoxy grout. Hydraulic pumps with
a mixing head that mixes the epoxy
for injection are commonly used.
Which type of equipment a contrac-
tor chooses depends on job condi-
tions, costs and personal prefer-
ence. Both are effective. The air
p re s s u re pot can be purchased for
as little as $125 but is extremely slow
to use. Multiple component pumps
provide the highest injection rates
but cost from $4000 to $8000. They
are commonly used by contractors
specializing in concrete repair.
Quality control
Pump pressure and mix ratio
should be tested at regular intervals
but not less than once a day. The
contractor should also record which
cracks are injected and any perti-
nent data obtained from quality
control checks.
Proper mixing can be determined
somewhat by simply checking the
material for uniformity of color or
lack of swirling. For a final check, to
be performed at the start of each
shift, a small sample of epoxy 1⁄4 inch
thick can be poured into a paper
cup or a l⁄4 -inch-diameter test tube.
The inspector can use this sample to
check for color uniformity and per-
form a Shore D hardness test if re-
quired.
In more critical applications, ul-
trasonic pulse velocity measure-
ments can be taken during injection
to determine when the maximum
crack filling has been achieved. Af-
ter the epoxy has hardened, random
cores can be drilled through the re-
paired cracks to visually evaluate
crack filling.
A final note: critical repairs re-
quire a repair contractor
For an enduring crack repair us-
ing epoxy injection, equipment,
materials and procedures must be
considered carefully and a strong
quality control program should be
followed. With on-site support from
a knowledgeable epoxy supplier and
dispenser manufacturer most re-
pairs will be satisfactory. Sophisti-
cated repairs, though, should be
done only by contractors who spe-
cialize in epoxy injection.
Epoxy injection can be an easy
and effective way to repair cracks,
but if done wrong the bad repair
may be irre p a ra b l e. There’s simply
no easy way to remove epoxy from
cracks.
References
1. Waring, S. T., “Chemical Grouting of
Water-Bearing Cracks,” Concrete In-
ternational, August 1986, pages 16-
21.
2. “Standard Specification for Epoxy-
Resin-Base Bonding Systems for Con-
crete,” ASTM C 881-78 (Reapproved
1983), Annual Book of ASTM Stan-
dards, Volume 04.02, pages 568-572,
American Society for Testing and Ma-
terials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103.
3. Murray, Myles A., “Welding Cracked
Concrete with Epoxy Injection,” Plant
Engineering, October 15, 1981, pages
133-135.
4. Guedelhoefer, O. C., and A. T.
Krauklis, “To Bond or Not To Bond,”
Concrete International, August 1986,
pages 10-15.
5. ACI Committee 224, “Causes, Eval-
uation, and Repair of Cracks in Con-
crete Structures,” ACI Journal, May-
June 1984, pages 211-230, American
Concrete Institute, Box 19150, Detroit,
Michigan 48219.
6. Trout, John E, and Silvio Santange-
lo, “Epoxy Injects New Life into Bridge
Pier,” Concrete International, August
1986, pages 39-43.

Editor’s note
For a review of the other ways of re-
pairing cracks described in Reference
5, read “How to fix cracks” in the Jan-
uary 1985 issue of Concrete Construc-
tion, pages 37-44.

PUBLICATION #C870045
Copyright © 1987, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved