The renovation and replacement of concrete structures such as bridges, substructures, and roadways are of vital importance to ensure safety. However, most concrete repairs fail due to poor concrete surface preparation.

It is critical that all unsound concrete is removed, leaving a sound, clean, and roughened surface to improve the quality and performance of the newly applied coating. To optimize coating adhesion and ensure a high-quality concrete surface repair, the concrete surface needs to be completely clean.

Here’s why using hydrodemolition for concrete surface preparation is superior to conventional methods such as chemical cleaning, acid etching, or mechanical preparation.

What is hydrodemolition?

Hydrodemolition is a method of using high-pressure stream(s) of water to blast away deteriorated concrete. It provides a precise way to remove layers of concrete and can remove concrete below the reinforcement bars. This process will clean the rebar while simultaneously preparing the remaining concrete, thus providing an excellent surface for the new concrete to bond to.

Advantages of hydrodemolition

Hydrodemolition concrete surface preparation equipment allows the user to remove concrete at very precise depths and create a uniform surface. Hydrodemolition also preserves the reinforcement bars and does not cause any impact and/or vibration into the structure in the way a jackhammer would.

It is also a very environmentally friendly method as it reduces both air and noise pollution, and does not use any type of chemicals. And the water during the demolition process can also be captured quickly and easily to the risk of runoff contamination.

To summarize, hydrodemolition:

does not cause any micro-cracks in the structure, ensuring a long-lasting repair of high quality
creates no vibrations, and noise and dust are dramatically reduced
allows for both selective and non-selective removal
keeps the rebars clean and intact
prepares a rough surface ideal for bonding between old and new concrete
improves efficiency as hydrodemolition is more than 25x faster than mechanical jackhammering.

Concrete surface preparation equipment from Conjet

The advantages of using hydrodemolition for concrete surface preparation do not stop there. Our hydrodemolition process involves one of the most sophisticated automatic robotic systems available. The Conjet ACR™ (Automated Concrete Removal) can be programmed to perform its duties by a single operator well clear of the demolition site. It can be programmed to cut specific shapes with no overruns or relief cuts, such as a manhole or for ductwork.

We offer the ideal concrete surface preparation equipment to quickly and safely remove concrete, coatings, rusts, and other tough adherents. For more than 35 years, we have been instrumental in the development of hydrodemolition for concrete removal and surface preparation.

Read more about our concrete surface preparation using ACR™ or contact us for more information.