Civil engineering, insulation Description of technical problem

Technical problem to be solved by this invention are consequences of penetrating of reinforcing steel. For purposes of this application the penetration of reinforcement means out of the concrete protruding reinforcing bar or reinforcing mesh, preferably metal, even more preferably steel, or plurality thereof, all of these meant for reinforcement of concrete constructions, said reinforcements protruding through hydro-insulation layer. In addition, other forms of penetrations through hydro- insulation layers are taken into consideration such as different anchors, attaching elements, installation cables, different penetrations, contacts with steel metal plates or other types of metal, all of which is for purposes of this application known as penetration of reinforcement. For purposes of this application the hydro-insulation layer means cover or application of hydro-insulation matter, preferably bitumen, either in forms of strips or plates and is an expression known in state of the art.

The civil engineering practice, in particular during erection and also during use of the constructions show that there are large problems with durability and reliability of materials, elements, and systems. Several times particular parts are failing, some functions or even whole systems. In such was caused economic damage is extremely large both for buildings or other forms of civil engineering constructions such as streets or similar. In addition one notices that lifespan of constructions are shortening while use of energy and environmental pollution is larger and larger.

In these problems one counts also the problem at hand namely interruption of hydro- insulation layer in the area of reinforcement penetration. Even the surface is small the hydro-insulation layer is weakened and therefore whole hydro-insulation system as the penetrating water easily fills room in the construction. This lowers the quality as the hydro-insulation system does not fulfill its primary target and is therefore diminishing the effort and investment. The experience show that the defect hydro- insulation is even worse than in cases of missing hydro-insulation layers as after water penetration the water holds in places as water or moisture are trapped under hydro-insulation layer and is construction setup harder to dry. As one needs to provide for continuous transition of steel reinforcement from e.g. columns or walls through the concrete plate to another column or plate, from reinforced concrete foundation or foundation plate into column or wall or similar this particular spot is weakened insofar water or moisture is concerned. In practice one finds many problems and warranty issues. Unfortunately the corrections are extremely hard to perform or even non viable.

Similar problem can be encountered in cases of anchors, steel constructions, different installation ducts and in all places where hydro-insulation of connection of hydro- insulation layer and particular penetration is hard to achieve.

Even if one succeeds in narrow area around steel reinforcement with application of appropriate hydro-insulating layer one has to enable good contact with bitumen hydro-insulation i.e. with bitumen strip and its particularities - application with gas burner. Most of such cut-offs is not resistant to high temperature, has low lifespan or are hard to connect with bitumen hydro-insulation. State of the Art

In the area of penetration of reinforcement or other transition of installations, anchors or similar one interrupts hydro-insulating layer counting on good hydro-insulation of concrete itself as well as connection between concretes installed during different steps. These experiences can be in particular bad. For this reason in modern times on the areas of penetration special elastic coats or pastes based on cements or two component coats preferably of epoxy resin. Even initial insulation may be sufficient the latter connection to bitumen hydro-insulation layer may be questionable as the composition is not the same, and in addition there can be damage during attaching of bitumen strips using gas burners (as epoxy resin and other plastic additives in particular acrylics are not temperature resistant, elevated temperatures caused by flames of gas burner). In addition these materials are extremely rigid and do not follow movement and expansion or contraction of a base made of (for example) bitumen products.

There is also possibility of installation of hot bitumen mixture, however this procedure may be dangerous, time consuming and also due to heating onto high temperatures (for some modified bitumens also to 240°C) in relatively large heating kettles while use for even large cross section is moderate. Due to these problems the method is not economical and is used exceedingly rare.

Description of new invention

The above referenced technical problem is solved by method and device for hydro- insulation of reinforcement penetration.

According to in this patent application described method the hydro-insulation coat is applied by melting the material for hydro-insulation coat adjacent to penetration of reinforcement in such a way that the material flows around or over separate reinforcement elements such as bars. The method is analogous to soldering as known in mechanical or electrical engineering. The material for hydro-insulation coat is preferably bitumen and is used for purposes of this application in form of slabs or strips.

The melting is performed with help of heaters, preferably gas burners or hot air guns which are usually available in construction sites. As there are gas burners available on the construction sites for installation of bitumen strips one can also heat up bitumen slabs or strips with said burner on site during installation. As said, this method is analogous to soldering in mechanical or electrical engineering.

This method of installation of hydro-insulation of steel reinforcement penetrations have several advantages:

- material in compatible with preferably bitumen based hydro-insulation layers;

- composition of bitumens and mixture is such that it is rigid enough and resistant to pushing out caused by high pressure under columns or walls,

- the installation is quick and does not need special preparation such as known in state of the art (e.g. preparation of two component mixture, mixing of one component mixture, preparation in special containers),

- compared to state of the art when the products are packed in special containers, cartridges or similar this new solution requires far less packing resulting in lower environmental pollution due to packaging,

- good adhesion to most substrates onto which hydro -insulation layers are installed (concrete, mortar, plaster, wood, different wood panels, existing layers of waterproofing bituminous hydro-insulation ...),

- as the material is relatively cheap, its installation quick and there are no special requirements for transport, storage and waste packaging the system of hydro-insulation on the area of steel reinforcement penetration is particularly economical and far cheaper of any known solutions so far.

Bitumen is known in state of the art and is used as hydro-insulating material. It is derivate of distillation of raw oil as by-product of distillation. At room temperature is solid and more or less inert. It is soluble in organic solvents. In hot conditions it is liquid and may cause burns.

The solution according to this invention shows the following advantages:

- full water and moisture proofing, also for water under pressure,

- fast and simple installation,

- good mechanical properties such as compression, tensile, shear and cut-off force,

- very good adhesive properties onto substrates of concrete, mortar, metal, wood, bitumen, asphalt etc.

- compatibility with foundations and material in bitumen hydro-insulating layers,

- economical installation,

- ecological inertness as the production, distribution, installation, decommissioning and recycling is significantly simpler and less damaging to environment as so far known solutions to waterproofing layer in the area of reinforcement penetration,

- resistance to aging and long life span,

- appropriate rigidness and plastic-elastic properties with polymer additives of modified bitumen mass,

- independence on weather conditions: installation is possible during very low temperature to -15°C as well as during high humidity.

The preparation of the foundation (substrate) is important for installation of any waterproofing layer as the coat must adhere well to the foundation and form homogeneous set. The substrate onto which the product is installed must be clear from dust particles and de-greased, as only such allows for good adhesion. Pre- application of bituminous layer on water base or organic solvent base is advised.

The installation procedure is as follows: - optionally on cleaned, dust-free and as dry as possible foundation there is bituminous pre-layer applied either water based on solvent based,

- after drying (usually 4 to 24 hours) the application of bituminous coat on the area of penetration can be tarted,

- material for hydro-insulation coat (preferably bituminous slab) is heated with a heater (hot air or flame) and simultaneously melted part of material for hydro-insulation coat (preferably bituminous mass) is applied to the foundation,

- as necessary the hydro-insulation coat material can be applied in multiple passes, however, one must be careful that the mass for hydro-insulation coat whole area is covered,

- hydro-insulation can be continued right after cooling of bituminous mass at the area of reinforcement penetration,

- taking particular care and multiple passes vertical or slanted surfaces can be insulated.

The material for hydro-insulation coat should be compatible with otherwise applied hydro-insulation layer which can be applied in form of coats or strips or some other way known in state of the art.

Below the essence of the invention is further explained with help of figures forming part of this application, as follows:

Figure 1 shows result method according to this invention showing reinforcing bars 1 , onto concrete or other foundation is applied hydro-insulating coat 3, material for hydro-insulation coat 4, parts (e.g. drops) of melted material for application of hydro- insulation coat 5, heater, preferably gas burner 6, hot air or flame 7, hydro-insulation layer (installation before or after reinforcement penetration) 8.

Figure 2 shows on the left hand side pre-prepared element namely reinforcing bar 1 , hydro-insulation layer in form of a strip 9, edge of hydro-insulating layer in form of strip 10, on right hand side it shows top-view of element after method according to this invention namely reinforcing bar 1, hydro-insulation coat 3, hydro-insulation layer 8, edge of edge of hydro-insulation layer in form of strip 10 which is now hidden underneath hydro-insulating coat 3.

Figure 3 shows the result of the second method according to this invention namely on figure shown reinforcing bars 1, concrete or other substrate 2, hydro-insulation coat 3, material for making hydro-insulation coat 4, parts (e.g. drops) of melted material for application of hydro-insulation coat 5, heater, preferably gas burner 6, hot air or flame 7, hydro-insulation layer (installation before or after reinforcement penetration) 8.

Figure 4 shows on the left hand side top-view of pre-prepared element namely reinforcing bar 1 and hydro-insulation coat 3, on the right hand side it shows top- view of element after method according to this invention namely reinforcing bar 1 , hydro-insulation layer 8, edge of edge of hydro-insulation layer in form of strip 10 which is now hidden underneath hydro-insulating coat 3.

Figures 1 and 2 show the method during which one first applies hydro-insulation layer 8 and then hydro-insulation coat 3 while figures 3 and 4 show method according to which first we apply hydro-insulation coat 3 and then hydro-insulation layer 8. The invention comprises both methods as well as combination of both methods.

In first embodiment adjacent to reinforcing bars 1 one applies hydro-insulation layer 8 in form of strip 9 in such a way that the edges 10 of strip 9 are adjacent to reinforcing bars 1. In accordance with system described the bituminous strip can be applied onto already installed layer on reinforcement penetration.

Then the material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 is put in proximity to reinforcing bars, said material in form of a slab, rope, coil, strip or similar form suitable for work, and then hydro-insulation coat 3 is applied. These forms have different cross sections, preferably square with side 1 cm to 4 cm, however, they can have circular or oval cross section, in form of ellipse, rectangular or polygonal.

In the second embodiment the material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 is put in proximity of reinforcing bars in already described form and then hydro-insulation coat 3 is applied.

Then along the reinforcing bars 1 the hydro-insulation layer 8 is applied in form of strips 9 in such a way that edges 10 of strip 9 are covering already applied hydro- insulation coat 3. In accordance with system described the bituminous strip can be applied onto already installed layer on reinforcement penetration.

These forms are performed in such a way that during heating and constant mixing the mixture (material) for making of hydro-insulation coat is prepared in the mixer, then the control of quality follows, the layer against adhesion is set into molds (special foil, coat, talc or other separation layers), then the dispensing or casting mass into molds or paneling is performed. After the mass is cooled to environmental temperature de-paneling is performed and packing in form and packaging of final product.

The material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 is heated with heater preferable gas burner 6 in such a way that material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 is exposed to hot air or flame exiting gas burner. Under influence of hot air the material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 starts to melt and falls in particles (e.g. drops) 5 onto area adjacent to reinforcement penetration 1. The melted mass for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 is flowing around bar 1 until it wraps it completely. One needs to take care for melted material for making of hydro-insulation coat 4 covers whole area which is still not insulated, in first embodiment area between edges 10 of strips 9 of hydro-insulation layer 8. In such a way hydro-insulation coat 3 is formed covering both edges 10 and therefore forming uninterrupted (continuous) hydro- insulation layer 8 also around reinforcing bars 1. In the second embodiment one takes care that edges 10 of strips extend over edge of hydro-insulation coat 3. With same system one solves also other penetrations through hydro-insulation layers such as different anchors, attaching elements, installation ducts or cables, different penetrations, contacts to sheet or metal etc.