Guidelines for concrete surface preparation: 10 years research and experience

¹ Urban and Environmental Engineering, ArGEnCo Department, University of Liège, Belgium
² CRIB, Civil Engineering Department, Laval University, Québec ( QC), Canada
³ Warsaw University of Technology, Department of Building Materials Engineering, Warsaw, Poland
⁴ Vaycon Consulting, Baltimore ( MD), U.S.A.
⁵ US Bureau of Reclamation, Denver ( CO), U.S.A.

^* Corresponding author: Luc/Courard@uliege.be

Abstract

To repair reinforced concrete infrastructures requests specific preparation operations needed for guaranteeing compatibility between substrate and new materials as well as the development of adhesion properties. These guidelines contain design and construction recommendations for surface preparation of concrete for repair and overlay. The paper illustrates current knowledge, best practices and results of the research concerning the surface preparation of concrete prior to application of repair/overlay materials. This is based on 10 years research activities on this topic through scientific cooperation programs between Wallonia, Quebec and Poland and a document edited by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Denver, CO, U.S.A.) entitled Development of Specifications and Performance Criteria for Surface Preparation Based on Issues Related to Bond Strength.