Evaluation of Thin Repair Materials for Concrete

Project ID: 1616
Principal Investigator: Kurt Von Fay
Research Topic: Repair and Maintenance
Funded Fiscal Years: 2009 and 2010
Keywords: None

Research Question

* What are the best thin repair materials for concrete to use on Reclamation facilities?

Need and Benefit

There is no known facility or manufacturer that routinely tests thin repair materials for concrete using newly established testing protocols. Users are left to evaluate testing information supplied from the manufacturers or testing labs that they hire to select products. Many times, the test results from different material suppliers are not comparable because tests are not performed the same way.

The only way to be able to compare different concrete thin repair materials is to test them using a standardized testing protocol. For the results to be most applicable to Reclamation concrete (which can be much older and under significantly different exposure conditions than more contemporary concrete), some of the tests should be adjusted or additional tests performed to obtain the most relevant results.

Experience from our protective coatings evaluation program has shown us that conducting a testing program like this is very valuable. We have been able to provide much better coatings choices for use at our facilities. The same outcome will be achieved by testing thin repair materials for concrete.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

Research Products

Bureau of Reclamation Review

The following documents were reviewed by experts in fields relating to this project's study and findings. The results were determined to be achieved using valid means.

Adding Materials to Concrete to Reduce Shrinkage Cracking (final, PDF, 136KB)
By Kurt Von Fay
Publication completed on September 30, 2009

This bulletin summarizes the research results and potential application to Reclamation's mission.

Report of Findings, Laboratory Evaluation of Concrete Thin Repair Materials (interim, PDF, 1.3MB)
By Kurt Von Fay
Report completed on October 30, 2009

The Materials Engineering and Research Laboratory (MERL) selected 8 concrete repair materials, out of a group of over 20, to evaluate for use to make concrete repairs to the flow surfaces of the Yellowtail Dam Spillway Tunnel.

During an inspection of the tunnel conducted in July of 2006, damage to the concrete tunnel lining was noted. A follow up exam was performed in March of 2007 to specifically look at the damaged concrete to see if further investigations were needed to confirm cause an

Return to Research Projects

Last Updated: 6/22/20