Thursday, 21 June 2012

Chemical Anchors & Their Advantages In Construction

By Shannon L Smith


Chemical anchor is a core solution for one of the major problems occurring in civil and construction industry. It provides the bond between the anchors and the bolts attached with the substrate to hold the heavy duty fixing.They are specifically the best for high load applications. Sometimes, they are also called resin anchors as they are based on resin adhesives. These resin adhesives are mixed with another chemical to begin the chemical curing process which hardens, and hence the term 'chemical anchor' is derived.

When some high load fixing application is required over the base material (like; concrete, masonry, brick or light weight material), a hole is usually drilled for placing anchor in it. And through this anchor, fixing is place that can be tightened using a bolt. This solution is good enough to bear heavy load but when the extremes of heavy duty fixing is in need, like building set-up chemical anchors are essentially used.

Usually for the heavy duty fitting applications, process is simple. Just a hole is drilled to insert the anchor and fitting is placed over it. Then it can be easily tightened with a bolt or stud. This technique provides strong hold for the fitting. But, in huge construction projects where ultimate strongest bonding is essential, they're not just adequate. This is where we apply chemical anchors.

There are few basic steps evolved for fixing with the chemical anchors. Here is the step by step guide, for all those who are seeking to do it on their own: * Use percussion drill to drill a bore hole. * Clean up the bore hole by brushing and blowing. * Take out the resin adhesive and mix it with the chemical you get in pack. Look for the instructions on the packet to know the quantity ratio for mixing it. * Inject with the adhesive to completely fill the borehole. * Remove the excessive mortar and use reinforce bar to drag in. * Observe correct hardening time. It usually depends on surrounding temperature. * Now, install the fixing and tighten it with bolt. There are variations and delivery systems found for the chemical or resin anchors in market. These are designed to apply for different applications. Though, all systems works using the same basic principle with the base resin, mixed with another chemical to begin the hardening process. Following are the chemical anchor systems to employ in particular cases. * Unsaturated polyester * Epoxy acrylate * Pure epoxy Pure epoxy provides the outstanding resistance as well mechanical and thermal properties for the strongest hold, while, epoxy acrylate is light in properties as compared to pure epoxy. In the meantime, unsaturated polyester is best for applications which don't require much stronger bonding.

Beside these chemical anchor systems, there are different blending formulation techniques and design specification for the resin adhesive and chemical. By following these techniques, one can achieve various bonding results for specified fixing requirements.

It is significant to learn and understand the properties of each resin anchor before using. It will help out to make your fixing application work for longer time period. Finding expert guide is preferred as best before applying any chemical anchor for fixing.




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