EVOLUTION OF CONCRETE PROTECTION SYSTEMS

An evolutionary process has resulted in "cast-in" liners emerging as the dominant concrete protection system world wide

Concrete has been used as a structural material for over 2000 years. However, the massive industrial progress made over the past 150 years has resulted in more aggressive environments, which have significantly reduced the life span of unprotected concrete structures.

These increasingly demanding operating conditions created a need for more sophisticated corrosion protection solutions. While the advent of coatings extended the service life of concrete structures, it was only successful in delaying the inevitable and provided no long term solutions. Tiling and brick based solutions enjoyed limited success, but required maintenance, along with the associated costs and downtime.

The focus then shifted towards mechanically fixed and glued liners, which aimed at utilising the proven protective qualities of plastic linings. Unfortunately, this still did not provide the ultimate solution due to the difficulties in forming an adequate bond between the lining and the concrete structure.

This evolutionary process moved the industry towards a new concept in concrete protection - "cast-in" concrete protection liners. This system uses the robust qualities of plastic linings, but enhances their design through the creation of a close matrix of anchor knobs, which permanently secure the sheeting to the structure.

At last a system has been created which successfully and reliably adapts superior sheeting technology to an age-old construction material. AKS Lining Systems has taken this "cast-in" liner concept and perfected its design through the development of Anchor Knob Sheet (AKS) technology, which surpasses all concrete protection alternatives on both cost saving and performance.