EN 12617 Products and Systems for the Protection and Repair of Concrete Structures - Test Methods

The European standard “EN 12617 Products and systems for the protection and repair of concrete structures - Test methods” consists of sub-sections developed under the same title. Namely,

• The standard “EN 12617-1 Part 1: Determination of linear shrinkage for polymers and surface protection systems (SPS)” is one of a series of substandards related to products and systems for the protection and repair of concrete structures. This standard describes the method for determining the linear shrinkage of solvent-free multi-component cold-curing reactive resins. This method is not suitable for rubber elastic and very fast-curing products. Rubber and elastic products exhibit relaxation effects and can distribute stress to the substrate. For testing very fast-curing products, the pot life must be long enough to mix and prepare the test samples. For the purposes of this standard, the terms and definitions in EN 1504-1 as well as the following definitions apply:
  • Shrinkage refers to the reduction in length or volume during curing of the material.
  • The shrinkage value expresses the ratio of the gap width in mm to the original 1 m length after curing.
• The standard “EN 12617-2 Part 2: Shrinkage of crack injection products based on polymer binders: volumetric shrinkage” describes a method for determining the volumetric shrinkage of products formulated with thermoset polymer binders, mainly epoxy and polyester binders, curing at or below ambient temperature. This method has been adapted for crack injection products formulated with polymer thermoset binders. In principle, when performing the test, the total volumetric shrinkage is calculated as the percentage change in density when the polymer system is cured to the final product at 21 degrees plus/minus 2 degrees. The density after polymerization (curing) is measured by measuring the buoyancy of the sample immersed in silicone oil at 21 degrees plus/minus 2 degrees.
• The standard “EN 12617-3 Part 3: Determination of early-age linear shrinkage for structural binders” describes a method for determining the early-age linear shrinkage of structural binders covered by the standards EN 1501-1 and EN 1504-4. This standard describes procedures for measuring linear shrinkage from a starting gel of polymer in the form of unconstrained thin strips of less than 10 mm thickness. It is designed to measure early-age shrinkage up to 24 hours, for example.

In principle, the test is as follows: A freshly mixed polymer sample is placed in a shallow steel trough mold whose interior is machined to prevent it from sticking to the polymer. The mold has sliding ends that engage the polymer and are free to move as the polymer expands or contracts. Linear displacement transducers attached to the ends allow the shrinkage to be measured. Temperature sensors attached to the mold allow the temperature of the mold and the polymer to be measured.

• The standard “EN 12617-4 Part 4: Determination of shrinkage and expansion” describes a procedure for measuring the dimensional stability (i.e. shrinkage and expansion movement) of hydraulic mortars or concretes or polymer hydraulic cement mortars or concretes as defined in the standard EN 1504-1 due to changes in moisture content. This standard includes two different methods: the free movement procedure and the restricted movement procedure. The principles of this standard are valid for mortars, mortar or concrete products or systems with a maximum aggregate size of 10 mm.

The first method is for measuring the unrestricted linear movement resulting from immersion in water (expansion) or drying conditions (contraction) of prismatic specimens with dimensions of 40 mm × 40 mm × 160 mm between 24 h and 56 days after casting. The second method is for measuring the loss of adhesion and the tendency to crack when applied to a 300 mm × 300 mm × 100 mm reference concrete substrate and subjected to immersion in water (expansion) or drying conditions (contraction).

Adequate waterproofing measures are essential to protect concrete from moisture penetration. Water infiltration can lead to corrosion of reinforcement and other forms of deterioration. Concrete structures designed to meet or exceed load-bearing requirements are more likely to have a longer life.

Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also test services in accordance with the standard "EN 12617 Products and systems for the protection and repair of concrete structures - Test methods".