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INTRODUCTION Most commonly, concrete reinforcement, rebar, is either plain uncoated steel or coated steel (zinc galvinized, epoxy or other coating material). Concrete reinforcement is delivered to a construction jobsite in various lengths, the only limitation to long lengths being available shipping means. In many cases, it becomes necessary to join one or more lengths of material to achieve the overall continuous structural length required by certain structures. To achieve these longer lengths, the rebar is lapped and tied with tie wire; lapped and welded; butted and welded (either with conventional "stick" welding or commercially available thermite charges), or joined together with a mechanical coupling. There are a number of mechanical couplings available to those familiar with the art of concrete construction. There is, available to the industry, non-metallic reinforcement. This material has the same length limitations as steel material. This instant discussion will deal only with steel parent material. It can be readily seen that the product can be applied to non-metallic reinforcement.
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In the case of plain, uncoated steel there is usually, but not always, no further treatment to the lapped, welded joint or mechanical jointing, after the jointing has been successfully completed. In the case of coated, either zinc galvanized or epoxy coating, the lap or welded joint must be cleaned and then coated with a material similar to that which with the parent material is coated. This involves a timely, costly, somewhat hazardous, mixing of the components of the coating system. The coating system must be applied in an expeditous manner so that the material does not lose inherent properties. There is also considerable waste, as it is difficult to determine the proper quantity of material necessary. The SpliceSeal product entails the use of a specially modified material, which is currently being used mostly in the electrical industry. The material is a plastic tubular product commonly known as "shrink tube". In the electrical industry the material is used to prevent the passage of electrical current at various jointures of electrical conductors. It is also used to prevent the deposit of harmful elements on electrical conductors.
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The material modification, to meet the needs of the SpliceSeal product application, does not effect the physical or mechanical properties of the material. The SpliceSeal product encapsulates that portion of coated rebar bared to affect a complete jointing of the rebar, or applied to any portion of the coated rebar which has received damage beyond acceptable limits. The application of the device is a simple operation relinquishing the requirement to mix and apply specific coatings to match the coating on the parent metal. The material is delivered to the place of installation in precut lengths suitable for a specific sizes (diameters) of rebar and the type of joint (lapped, welded or mechanical fastener). |
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