Xypex C-1000 admixture was used to waterproof capping beams and other elements used in the construction of London’s new 95-story building, The Shard, named by its creator for its resemblance to a giant pyramid-shaped shard of glass rising 1,016 ft. in the air. Designed by Renzo Piano, The Shard replaced Southwark Towers next to London Bridge station. As of now, it is the tallest building in the European Union, and boasts 1.2 million sq. ft. of mixed-use floor space.
Xypex’s proprietary Concrete Waterproofing by Crystallization is an established technology to waterproof, protect and repair concrete structures for a wide variety of new and existing applications. The technology—successfully used in projects around the world for more than 40 years—exploits concrete’s inherent water permeability to deliver crystalline chemicals that plug the material’s pores and bridge micro-cracks that occur as the concrete dries and shrinks. The chemistry can be easily introduced into new concrete as an admixture, a dry-shake product, or a surface-applied coating. For existing (i.e. cured) concrete, surface-applied coatings are used.
Any infiltrating water, and harmful chemicals dissolved within, can compromise the concrete. The Xypex Crystalline technology uses water in the capillary tracts as a diffusing medium to carry waterproofing chemicals into the concrete. The chemicals migrate through the waterways of the saturated pore network, where they react and grow non-soluble, needle-like crystals that plug the pores. — Xypex Chemical Corp., www.xypex.com