Just like the air we breathe, sound is just as an important – yet often overlooked – part of our lives. And just as air quality can have a detrimental effect tion and demolition industry. Even though they are vital to further develop our society, the noise produced by erecting, remodeling, and demolishing structures results in a number of health concerns including:

• Stress
• Hearing loss
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cognitive impairment

Hydrodemolition equipment has proven to be a viable solution as the pressure from all sides increased in the search of an efficient, cost-effective way to limit noise pollution. In the end, sound-proofing a construction site is easier said than done. Sound abatement techniques can reduce decibels, but lack the capability to eliminate the biggest noise polluter – machines.

The many benefits of hydrodemolition equipment

Hydrodemolition equipment is gaining popularity in concrete removal as a method not only able to prevent noise pollution as compared to conventional demolition equipment such as pneumatic breakers, but also provides a host of other benefits including:

• Does not cause any micro-cracks in the remaining structure, ensuring long-lasting repair of high-quality. 

• Enables both selective and non-selective removal of concrete
• Causes no vibrations during the removal process
• Cleans the rebars, sparing you time and effort of sandblasting the reinforcing steel
• Hydrodemolition is generally around 25x faster than mechanical jackhammering
• Prepares an ideal surface for bonding between new and old concrete

Hydrodemolition equipment is relatively silent compared to traditional demolition methods, allowing contractors to efficiently continue operators without disturbing their neighbors or risking the health of their employees.

Hydrodemolition vs. Pneumatic devices

Demolition and surface preparation are inherently noisy, where traditional removal techniques such as using pneumatic devices operate at unhealthy decibel levels. The noise level can of course vary greatly depending on a wide variety of factors including where the project is taking place (open or enclosed environment), the condition of the material being removed, and the type of machinery being used.

Handheld pneumatic devices and concrete saws register around 90-100 dB, about the same as a lawnmower or snowblower. Whereas most hydrodemolition equipment typically registers around 10-20 dB lower than that of many traditional demolition techniques.

How can Conjet’s hydrodemolition robots be so quiet?

This is a combination of several factors:

• Rubber hoods: All our hydrodemolition robots are equipped with a rubber hood which covers the demolition area and not only dampens sound, but also protects the workers from debris. 
• Remote operations: While it doesn’t reduce the overall decibel levels, remote operation capabilities allow the workers to control the robots from a distance, thus increasing sound safety. 

• High-quality sound engineering: We’ve worked on perfecting the sound engineering of our hydrodemolition robots, guaranteeing low sound levels to minimize jobsite noise – ensuring the contractor’s ability to meet sound regulations in urban areas.

• Quick and efficient: The Conjet hydrodemolition robots ensure fast and efficient concrete demolitions and repairs, minimizing the time the machines have to be active.

Hydrodemolition equipment for sale

It’s time to turn down the volume on your concrete removal and surface preparation applications. If you’re looking for hydrodemolition equipment for sale, contact Conjet.

Noise restriction will in most likelihood continue to increase as jobsits move further into heavily populated urban environments. Investing in quieter methods will not only ensure you will be able to meet current sound level regulations, but also promises long-term options as the industry continues to evolve. Explore our demolition equipment for sale.

 

If you are new to the the world of hydrodemolition the terminology can sometimes be difficult. This is a list of specific terms being used in the concrete removal and hydrodemolition field. 

 

ACR™

Automated Concrete Removal. Selective or non-selective removal of concrete from structures done by hydrodemolition robots being programmed and remotely operated.

BAR (UNIT)

A metric unit of pressure. 1 Bar = 14.5 psi

1 = atmospheric pressure at an altitude of 111 meters above sea level at 15 deg. C.

BONDING

When new concrete is put on top of old concrete, to restore a structure.

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

The ability of concrete to withstand forces that are pushing on it without braking.

CRADLE

The assembly that the cutting lance is attached to and allows the robot to aim and manipulate the water jet.

CUTTING LANCE

The assemble including the nozzle that is the robots final contact with the water.

FEED BEAM

The structure of the robot that the cradle travel on. It can be straight or curved to match a surface profile.

HYDRODEMOLITION

The process of selective removal of concrete by means of one or more high-speed water jets. You can read more about hydrodemolition here.

MICRO-CRACK

A crack in the structure that appears when concrete is removed using methods creating friction in the structures, which in turn creates micro cracks.

 

MPA

Multipurpose arm. This is one of Conjets unique features and it  allows you to easily adjust and position the cutting head from the remote control.

NALTA

The smallest ACR™ robot on the market, allowing allows selective concrete removal in inaccessible areas.

NON-SELECTIVE REMOVAL

The capacity to remove concrete to a specific depth, not based on the concrete strength.

MPA (MEGAPASCAL)

A unit for measuring pressure or stress

1 MPa = 145.038 psi

PSI (POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH)

A unit for measuring pressure or stress.

14.7 psi = atmospheric pressure sea level

SELECTIVE REMOVAL

The capacity to remove concrete by its strength and not to a specified depth.

STEP LENGTH

The distance the track(s) will move during operation.

STEP SPEED

Determines the length of time the valve for track movement is open during operation.

STRUCTURES

Different constructions build of concrete: bridges, dams, docks, parking decks, tunnels etc.

TENSILE STRENGTH

The ability of the concrete to withstand pulling forces without breaking.

Bridges are an important part of infrastructure – an enabler for urbanization and efficient movement of people in daily life. Bridges are by default very exposed to weather and wind thanks to their surrounding environment. Hydrodemolition is the right method to get the concrete bridge repair job done most effectively – here we tell you why! 

The history of bridges started in ancient times, and ever since then architects and engineers have improved them to the point they are today – mighty structures that span mountains, lakes and oceans. The Romans revolutionized the building technique by introducing arches, resulting in a structure that was very rigid and strong. The Turkish Karamagara Bridge that was built in the 5th or 6th century represents the oldest surviving Roman bridge that features pointed arch.

Many historical battles have been fought over the control of these bridges, making them a symbol of control of the flow of people and goods across rivers and canyons. Today, bridges are an important part of infrastructure – an enabler for urbanization and efficient movement of people in daily life.

No one really knows how many bridges there are on planet earth, but the fact that there were over 600,000 bridges in the US alone in 2016 tells us something about the great number.

Out of these, 4 out of 10  – or 240,000 – are older than 50 years. It is estimated that 188 million trips annually are done over bridges that are structurally deficient, and recent estimates puts the investment needed for bridge rehabilitation in the US alone to a $123 billion.

In Europe, the situation is the same. In Italy, 300 bridges are at risk for failure and in Sweden, 800 out of a total 21,000 bridges are being investigated for needs of repair. Out of France’s 12,000 bridges one-third are in urgent need of repair and in Germany 1 out of 10 of the country’s 39,000 bridges are in bad condition.

AGEING AND OTHER CHALLENGES WHEN RESTORING A BRIDGE

Bridges are by default very exposed to weather and wind thanks to their surrounding environment. Additional causes of aging over time are in general:

• Chloride penetration. Chloride (salt) is often spread on roads and bridges in order to prevent ice from being created on road surfaces. On structures close to water, the salt is brought by wind or permeated in through cracks directly from the ocean. Once inside, the chloride causes corrosion at the rebars. The rebars expand when they corrode and, consequently, crack the surrounding concrete. These damages lead to an increased penetration of water and chloride, which speed up the aging procedure.
• Freeze-thaw cycles. A similar cracking procedure of the concrete occurrs when water and moist inside the concrete freezes and thereby expands. The concrete can only withstand a specific amount of freezing cycles. This means that a concrete structure e.g. a bridge in an area where the temperature fluctuates around the freezing point will age a lot faster than one in a less seasonal climate.
• Concrete is naturally basic but in contact with the air a chemical reaction caused by the carbon dioxide (Co2) decreases the pH value. When it gets too low (pH < 9) the corrosion of the reinforcement will accelerate (compared to the chloride penetration mentioned above). When this phenomenon occurs the carbonated concrete must be replaced.

Other challenges when restoring a bridge:

• Abutment walls can be located on cliff faces and inaccessible to some equipment.
• Beams can be at great heights above the ground or over water with nowhere to station a robot underneath.
• Bearing foundations have limited access for a conventional hydrodemolition robot.
• Decks with today’s high volumes of traffic the schedules are tighter than ever before.
• Piers (Pillars): being the foundation of the bridge they can be of great height and are sometimes located partially under water or in the medians of other roadways or shipping channels.
• Parapet walls: located along the edges of the bridge these are most exposed to the elements but are vulnerable to impact and even fire damage caused by vehicle accidents.

SUSTAINABLE RESULTS!

The keys to a sustainable, long-lasting result when restoring a bridge are:

• Create a surface that is ideal for bonding new concrete.
• Ensure that no micro-cracks are created in the process of removing damaged and/or old concrete.
• Ensure that no damage is caused to the re-bars when removing the damaged and/or old concrete.
• Use a methodology allowing the choice of selective (removal of the concrete down to a specific quality/strength) or non-selective removal (removal of x, y or z metrics of concrete, no matter the quality.

The aging of concrete is not linear, so hydrodemolition is the right method to get the bridge repair job done most effectively. The ACR™ robots have been developed to allow both selective and non-selective removal, leaving no micro-cracks or damage to the re-bars in the structure and a surface ideal for bonding. 

THIS IS HOW ACR™ AND HYDRODEMOLITION HELPS:

• Abutment walls: If the robot arm does  not allow you to reach the removal area a tower attachment or a frame system are available.
• Beams: the integrated arm of the robot allows you to remove the slab with the robot positioned on a solid area.
• Bearing foundations: if there is not enough room for the robot, a frame system can get the job done.
• Decks: with today’s high volumes of traffic the schedules are tighter than ever before. The arc robot with One control allows for ease of operation and less downtime, helping you keep on schedule. 
• Piers (Pillars): A frame system can be setup on the pier, and you can accomplish the removals either in stages or with a larger frame to cover the entire area in one setup. 
• Parapet walls: not only can you extend the tracks but also slide the body of the robot for extra stability, when reaching over the wall. All without any additional attachments.

Want to know how Conjet’s hydrodemolition robots can make you concrete brigde repair more efficient? Contact us here!