Washington State University engineering researcher Xianming Shi has developed a product he believes will lengthen the life of bridges and highways, many of which are aging and in need of repair.
“Concrete is a solid sponge," he said. "There are air entrapped inside the concrete, so you have pores, but you also have cracks, micro cracks, which might be finer than your hair and may not be visible, but in general it is highly porous material.”
When water penetrates into the cracks and bubbles inside surfaces such as road decks and bridge supports, it eats away at the steel rebar inside. Shi says he and his team have developed a liquid sealant he believes will be better than similar materials now on the market.
“Our approach is to use nanotechnology to further engineer the sealer, which serves as a penetrating sealer, but also makes the surface hydrophobic, which means it’s water resistant and make it resistant to other forces such as traffic," he said.
Shi says he and his team have tested their sealant in the lab and found it effective in repelling water and keeping the inside of the concrete dry. They plan to do some pilot testing on concrete infrastructure projects in Pullman.
“In about two years we will be able show people it actually works really well in the field environment relative to the commercial counterpart," he said.
If all goes well, Shi says the university could eventually license the sealer to a private company that would then scale up production, market and sell it.
