Nano Tech nology in Water Proofing of
Building Materials
(Long life, Economical & Eco-friendly)
Abstract:
Water intrusion in building materials
has been a problem for the last 1000 years.
Regrettably, this problem was never fully
addressed due to a lack of understanding on a
Nano scale. Fortunately, new developments in
science and technology have incorporated the
use of Nano technology to produce eco-friendly,
Organo-Silicon products that can render most
cementitious materials hydrophobic for cycles
of 20 to 30 years or more at a very economical
cost.
Introduction:
Building materials are known to
have water seepage and water leaks due to
inherent porosity and micro cracks. Water
repellency can be achieved through treatments,
which are expected to render cementitious
materials impervious to water. Over the last 50
years, a significant amount of technology has
been developed utilizing various methodologies.
One of the most common methods utilized a
blend of basic polymeric chemistry and other
materials to create products that are resistant to
water intrusion.
Water Repellents:
One of the primary objectives
of water repellents is to maintain and
preserve aesthetics, by protecting
cementations substrates from water related
issues such as:
Paint peel-off Paint blisters Fungus Mold &
Mildew Efflorescence
In addition to aesthetic
preservation, water repellents address more
serious structural issues such as the loss of
structural strength of concrete building materials
due to ASR (alkali silica reaction), acid rain,
and sulphate attack. Water repellents can also
prevent chloride penetration, which often results
in the corrosion of the reinforced steel bars.
Water related problems –
Most cementitious building materials are very
porous and have surface hydroxyl groups. These
hydroxyl groups attract water because of the
hydrophilic nature and similarity with the
structure of water. Therefore, most cementitious
building materials easily absorb water into the
pores when water is present. The size of the
water molecule is 0.18 nm (nanometer = 10-9
meter, i.e. .00018 microns). The pore size in
most cementitious building materials range
from 5 to 200 nm. Most pollutants such as
acids, chlorides, and sulphates range between 1
to 2 nm. Even the most dense concrete and
stones and have pore sizes much larger than
water which enable both water and other
damaging chemicals to easily penetrate the pore
structure of these materials.
As the world has started to pay
more attention to aesthetics, the building
industry has begun to rely on more often on
water repellents as the primary mechanism to
maintain and preserve the clean look of new
buildings. As a result of this demand, many
products are currently commercially available,
however, it is important to recognize that the
essential functions that these water repellents
should address :
• Resistance to water intrusion
• Prevention of water- soluble salts,
particularly chloride salts
• Penetration of repellent treatment to a
measurabledepth
• Will not stain surface areas
• Long-term stability in an alkaline
environment
• Low environmental and health risk
There are 2 classes of waterproofing products:
1. Film Formers
2. Penetrants / Repellents
Film Formers:
The economics and the ease of application have
led to widespread use of film forming water
repellents. Products like acrylic paint and silicon
polymers are commonly used in the world for
waterproofing applications. These film formers
have a particle size greater than 100 nm, which
will not allow them to penetrate inside the pores
of the building materials but instead form a film
covering and protecting the surface from water
absorption. Generally, these polymer films are
hydrophobic but they need to be continuous and
defect-free and also must be UV resistant. It is
found that during application, ensuring a
continuous film on rough surfaces is difficult to
achieve which leads to weak points in the film.
Most typical polymer films tend to break down
under UV exposure leading to cracking of the
films in 2 to 5 year. This leads to failure in
terms of losing the hydrophobic water resistant
features of the film.
Penetrants / Repellents:
Most penetrants are solvent based, soluble
monomeric materials less than 6 ηm in size
which can easily penetrate inside the pores and
sub-branches of the pores. There are two types
of penetrants: (i) non reactive and (ii) reactive.
Non-reactive penetrants are oils and other low
viscosity hydrophobic materials, which coat the
pores of the substrates and provide water
repellency. However, these types of materials
are also biodegradable and lose their
hydrophobic characteristics within a year.
Additionally, these products also provide food
for mold or fungus growth on the substrate
surfaces and into the pores.
Reactive penetrants chemically react with the
substrate and provide molecular level
hydrophobic protection 3 to 5 mm deep into the
substrate. Therefore, these types of water
repellent products provide protection for a long
period. Additionally, the product is bound
chemically on a molecular level to the substrate.
As a result weathering (UV exposure) and
natural abrasion have little impact on the
ultimate waterproofing characteristics.
The data clearly suggests that Silane
water repellent technologies offer optimum long-
term performance. Silanes and Silane / Siloxanes
are recognized as a new class of water repellent
technology that uses two methods to suppress
water intrusion.
Solvent based silane water repellent
compounds have been proven to provide long
lasting performance and are used widely in USA
and Europe. The two alkyl silanes most often used
for waterproofing are:
(i) isobutyltrialkoxysilane
(ii) n-octyltrialkoxysilane.
The silanes used with water repellent
technologies are monomeric materials are known as
alkylalkoxysilane.
Alkylalkoxysilane has two types of groups
(a) alkyl group, R’ and
(b) alkoxy groups, (OR) which are reactive with
most cementitious building materials.
Water Attracted to
concrete
AL
KY
L
Eliminates Site
HOH
Si
OH
OH- OH OH-
O
Si
Si Si Si
O O O
Although solvent based silanes can provide
superior performance, usage is often limited
because of its high cost, flammability and
toxicity related to the solvent content limiting
its usage to more critical structures.
Accelerated weathering:
Weathering Cycle: The UV exposure was set
according to ASTM G-154 (21 hours), followed
by rain showers (1 hour) and drying at 110C (2
hours).
All the Samples retained over 98 % of water
repellency, after 80 cycles.
Water uptake test:
This test was carried out according to ASTM
6489 method. The treated samples were weighed
to the nearest 0.01 grams, and then placed with
treated or exposed surface only, in a tank
containing several inches of tap water for a
period of 24 hours. The samples were then
removed from the water, towel dried and
reweighed. The initial and final weights were
used to calculate the 24-Hour Treated Water
uptake values. These values were compared with
the untreated samples.