Floors/flooring epoxy

Composite drive shaft - CF/epoxy/CF stiffened aluminum shaft, passenger car floors, epoxy/GFRP springs... 

Because they are relatively expensive, epoxy polymers have not been used very widely as binders in PC products. Therefore, epoxy PC is used for special applications, in situations in which the higher cost can easily be justified, such as mortar for industrial flooring to provide physical and chemical resistance, skid-resistant overlays (filled with sand, emery, pumice, quartz) in highways, epoxy plaster for exterior walls (e.g., in exposed aggregate panels), and resurfacing material for deteriorated areas (e.g., in flooring). Epoxy PC reinforced with glass, carbon, or boron fibers is used in the fabrication of translucent panels, boat hulls, and automobile bodies [2,6],... 

Bisphenol F epoxy resins are used in high-soHds-high-build systems such as tank and pipe linings, industrial floors, road and bridge deck toppings, stmctural adhesives, grouts, coatings, and electrical varnishes. Bisphenol F epoxy resins are manufactured in Europe and Japan. 

Epoxy resin high-build floor paints 9/105... 

Two-component epoxy resin water thinned dispersions are now being used as floor sealers. They have good adhesion to concrete as well as good chemical resistance. However, the particle size of the dispersion is comparatively large (approximately 1-1.5 microns) and consequently penetration into good-quality concrete is minimal and an on-surface seal is obtained. However, with porous low-quality concrete substances, considerable binding/strengthening, etc. of the surface can be achieved with water-dispersible epoxy resin-based floor sealer. 

Like the high-build epoxy paints, these are solvent-free low-viscosity systems which are readily applied onto a prepared level substrate to provide a jointless thin (thickness approximately 1.5 mm) chemically resistant flooring in a single application. ... 

In recent years, more heavily filled flowing epoxy resin mortar flooring systems laid at 3 to 5 mm thickness are increasingly being used instead of the more traditional trowelled epoxy resin mortar flooring systems described below. The laying costs of the flowing mortars are... 

When formulating a system for optimum abrasion resistance, both the epoxy/resin hardener binder system and the filler blends used appear to have an influence. The simulation of abrasive service loads on industrial floor toppings in a laboratory is not simple, and numerous wear test machines have been devised. Correlation between different wear test machines is not always good, although most... 

In one series of laboratory tests carried out to find the optimum wear resistance of heavy-duty epoxy resin flooring compositions, a number of different abrasion resistant materials were evaluated using BS 416, employing three different epoxy resin binders which themselves had significantly differing chemical compositions and mechanical properties. The results of this work, which was carried out under dry conditions, are given in Table 9.1. As can be seen from the table, the selection of the abrasion-resistant material and the resin matrix both influence the abrasion resistance of the system, although the abrasive material incorporated appears to play a more cmcial role. 

Table 9.1 Abrasion values of trowelled epoxy resin flooring compositions, using BS 416...

Another aspect of epoxy resin mortar floorings which needs careful attention is that their coefficients of thermal expansion are approximately three times that of concrete. This, coupled with the relative low thermal conductivity of epoxy mortar, can cause stresses to be induced at the resin mortar/concrete interface under conditions of thermal shock (e.g. thermal cleaning), resulting in break-up of the flooring due to initial failure in the concrete. Two approaches have been tried to overcome this problem ... 

Polyester resin floor toppings, similar in performance to the epoxy toppings, have been used but, as indicated earlier, polyester systems tend to shrink and, without careful formulation and laying, shrinkage stresses with polyester resin systems can develop at the interface between the topping and the concrete substrate. Coupled with the additional stresses due to the differences in their coefficients to thermal expansion, this can cause failure at the surface of the concrete substrate." ... 

Polyurethane mortar flooring systems based on somewhat similar technology to this special polyester system have also been used in chemical plants and have given excellent service. The basic urethane polymer is more elastomeric than either epoxy or polyester resins and, as such, is reported to have excellent thermal properties up... 

Shaw, J. D. N., Epoxy resin based flooring compositions. Flooring and Finishing News, 7-11, January (1967). 

Two-pack epoxy Section 12.3.3. These are widely used to give the maximum protection to concrete surfaces, floors and walls. They can be applied as relatively thin coatings by spray or as thick epoxy surfaces applied by trowel. In all cases, the application must be preceded by adequate surface preparation (see Section 12.6.1). To allow maximum penetration into the concrete the first coat must have a low viscosity. Coal tar epoxies are used where protection is the main requirement. 

Thin coatings These pigmented materials, commonly known as floor paints, are often based on chlorinated rubber (see Section 12.3.2) or epoxy ester (see Section 12.3.1). They have limited life in heavy traffic but are easy to apply. 

Self-leveling These are generally based on solvent-free epoxy and there are a number of proprietary products available. Generally, they are 3-8 mm thick, but if the base floor is too rough, it is advisable to first level this with a cement/resin screed. 

Phenol was originally recovered during the coking of coal, essentially being a by-product. Eventually, commercial routes were developed based on benzene (from coal or petroleum) for example, sulfonation of benzene to ben-zenesulfonic acid followed by reaction with water to phenol plus regenerated sulfuric acid. Phenol is used to make plastics (phenol-formaldehyde and epoxy resins) and textile fibers (nylon). Phenol is also used in solution as a general disinfectant for cleaning toilets, stables, floors, drains, etc. and is used both internally and externally as a disinfectant for animals. 

Foam compositions, including a latex and a polynitrile oxide such as 2,4,6-triethylbenzene-l,3-dicarbonitrile oxide, or a latex and an epoxy silane, or a latex and a mixture of the two crosslinkers have been prepared (526). The compositions may also contain additional components, including fillers, surfactants, cell detackifiers, froth stabilizers, froth boosters, viscosity reducers, and compounds to improve resilience, and antioxidants. The compositions are particularly useful in the manufacture of flooring, wall covering, shoe lining and nonwoven materials. 

Construction materials must be nonabsorbent and easily cleaned or decontaminated. Seamless flooring avoids cracks from which spilled chemicals can contribute a significant pollution burden to the laboratory air. Epoxy paint should be used for interior walls. Dropped ceilings should be made of nonabsorbent material such as enameled metal. Hoods and sinks should be fabricated of stainless steel. Wood or other porous surfaces must be avoided. 

Epoxy resins find a large number of uses because of their remarkable chemical resistance and good adhesion. Epoxy resins are excellent structural adhesives. When properly cured, epoxy resins can yield very tough materials. They are used in industrial floorings, foams, potting materials for electrical insulations, etc. One of the principal constituents in many of the Fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) is an epoxy polymer. 

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