In the last few years, intensive improvements in specific surface characteristics of concrete goods, like paving blocks and slabs, have won through onto the market. This is set against a background of decreasing surface areas laid down and increasing competition from substitutes like natural stone and ceramics. At the same time, the purchasing behaviour of both private and municipal customers has changed and expectations as regards these revamped concrete goods have risen appreciably. There has been a clear trend away from the previous customary “item of daily use” to a more elevated “design surface opportunity”. Improved cleaning and maintenance properties have become prevalent alongside surface refinements, new shapes and formats, and coloured designs. Meanwhile, even more demanding requirements have been voiced that can often only be unsatisfactorily fulfilled by conventional protective impregnations that are effective on the surface alone. IntraDuro® is a new “holistic” protective system in which the porosity and absorbency of the entire facing layer are significantly reduced. Consideration has also been given in this all-round system of protection to requirements as regarding reproducibility in concrete goods manufacturing and the high-class hardened concrete characteristics necessary for this end.
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concrete microstructure and normal absorptive mineral properties are substantially, and even almost totally, excluded. IntraDuro® – the holistic protective system With TrioCare®, penetration protectors that are open to diffusion have been developed as the third system component in this allround protection concept. Permanent dirt-repellent properties are created in the microstructure on condition that these previously mentioned, reproducible concrete qualities can be maintained - most importantly with facing concrete layers. However, minor shortcomings will always occur in the concrete microstructure and in the evenness or homogeneity of the manufactured surface structures even when all the prescribed production parameters have been taken into account. In order to safeguard the system’s durability, a new, more resistant, especially penetrating surface protection has been developed. The distinctive feature with TrioCare® penetration protectors is that they penetrate uniformly into dense, water and oil repellent concrete surfaces and develop their protective function from within the microstructure on a permanent basis – quite the opposite to other impregnations and coating materials. These protective systems cannot, however, be applied to unrefined concrete qualities because they “soak in without definition” and thus only exhibit unsatisfactory results due to differing absorption behaviour with the reactive ingredients in the overall matrix. In principle, the penetration protectors can hardly be noticed visibly except for their slight colour intensifying properties, since a deep-acting, chemical- molecular reaction generates great strength in the compensated concrete microstructure. This in-depth action ensures greater long-term effects in terms of the usual chemical-physical surface loads of the concrete areas laid down. Summary The IntraDuro® system opens up completely new prospects in terms of holistic surface protection for mineral construction materials. A decisive factor in this is the installation and maintenance of reproducible and traceable production processes. The interplay of cement, water, aggregates, additives and plasticisers in combination with innovative protective systems is of major importance. All components intertwine with each other and even one single “rogue” in such a network can weaken the system permanently! www.betra.com info@betra.com