Proven concrete protection under conditions of continuous use

• Name

  Big deal in India

• Country

  India, 2023

• Fields of Expertise

  Bridge

• Categories

  Surface Protection
  Concrete Repair

• Products

  MC-Color Flex pure
  MC-Color Flex pro
  MC-Color Flex vision

Coating concrete surfaces with EmceColor-flex prevents atmospheric pollutants such as carbon dioxide, chlorides, sulphates, water, etc. from penetrating the concrete and causing corrosion of the steel. This prolongs the life of the structure. The product has set quality benchmarks across India for its carbonation-retarding properties. These properties are listed in the approvals of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) and the Indian Road Congress (IRC).

Competition in the Indian market is getting stronger

While EmceColor-flex had a practically unique position in concrete coatings in India for a long time due to its many positive properties, MC has had to face increased competition in recent years. Siddhesh Rangnekar, Business Manager of MC India: "In the past, we simply supplied EmceColor-flex – and our applicators applied it. In the recent time, despite all the coating references, we have to explain more and more often how we differ from the competition and what the added value is, after using EmceColor-flex." Accordingly, those responsible at MC began to rethink – away from the exclusively product-related argumentation and towards a more holistic service in the protection of concrete surfaces.

EmceColor-flex offers systematic concrete protection

In order to be able to maintain the pioneering role of EmceColor-flex in India, MC-India decided to place the product in an overall package with other services that make life easier for the applicator. In the run-up to coating, these include surface smoothing and levelling of the concrete joints with the Nafuquick system, as well as the introduction of airless spraying machines for accelerated, simple and safe application of EmceColor-flex.

 

In this context, quality assurance measures were also further advanced. Thanks to the introduction of instruments for monitoring the layer thickness of EmceColor-flex, as well as of comprehensive checklists for thorough documentation of consumption and monitoring the activity sequence, customers play it safe by opting for the MC system. "With this, we have again clearly set ourselves apart from our competitors, offering our customers not only excellent quality of the system design but also comprehensive support for the success of the measure," emphasises Siddhesh Rangnekar. This concept works.

Three steps to protected concrete

The coating system now offered consists of Nafuquick, Primex 250 and EmceColor-flex and involves three steps. First, the surfaces to be treated are smoothed and the concrete joints are levelled. Here, the fine universal filler Nafuquick, a polymer-modified, cement-based repair mortar, is used to fill pores and cavities in the concrete surface and to level out unevenness in both base and exposed concrete. This is followed by priming with Primex 250, which is applied at 100 to 110 grams per square metre. Primex 250 is a ready-to-use primer and bonding agent offering high adhesion for various waterproofing and protective coatings on concrete surfaces. The finishing touch is two coats of the anti-carbonation coating EmceColor-flex. This system has been used successfully for several years now on bridges, overpasses, in road tunnels, underground car parks and on precast elements in India. This is also illustrated by the three recent projects listed below.

Construction of an Elevated Highway in Trivandrum

Between July 2021 and November 2022, the 2.7-kilometre-long Kazhakuttam Elevated Highway was built in the provincial capital of Trivandrum, the longest four-lane elevated highway in the state of Kerala. The National Highways Authority of India acted as the client on behalf of the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in New Delhi, and the construction company RDS-CVCC (JV) was responsible as the general contractor. The project was entrusted to M/s S&G Engineers, an authorised engineering contractor of MC India in Kerala since 1988. Covering an area of 139,100 m², 60 tonnes of Nafuquick and 15 tonnes of Primex 250 were used for the preparatory work before the carbonation protection was finally applied with 63 tonnes of EmceColor-flex.

Application between Thalassery and Mahe

Also on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India, a NH-17 bypass was constructed in Kerala between June 2021 and December 2022, connecting Thalassery and Mahe, two major towns in Kannur district. Under the project management of EKK INFRASTRUCTURE LTD, the four-lane road was constructed, with M/s S&G Engineers again selected as the general contractor. To permanently counteract carbonation of the surfaces of the concrete structures on this stretch, an area of 302,000 m2 was treated with a total of 135 tonnes of EmceColor-flex, after 20 tonnes of Primex-250 and 95 tonnes of Nafuquick had already been applied in preparation.

Protection of a bridge structure in Kollam

Between July 2021 and June 2022, a bridge structure was protected with EmceColor-flex on behalf of the Works Department's Bridges Division. The concrete bridge over Lake Ashtamudi is part of the two-lane Asramam Link Road in Kollam district. Under the management of Cherian Varkey Construction Company (P) Ltd, M/s S&G Engineers carried out the work to protect the concrete with the proven system, using eight tonnes of Nafuquick and four tonnes of Primex 250 in the preparatory work and 17 tonnes of EmceColor-flex for the protective coating over a surface area of 41,600 m².

Tried and tested still on top

These three current projects confirm once again: even after three decades on the market, EmceColor-flex outperforms most competing products due to its excellent adhesion properties and high resistance to carbon dioxide diffusion. In the system with Nafuquick and Primex 250, which is easy to apply for applicators, EmceColor-flex underlines its pioneering role in the protection of concrete structures on the subcontinent.