The theme addressed by G. Cuneo refers to: “… clearing doubts about the application of expansion resin, for cracks in walls and stabilizing and consolidating soils, in areas and areas susceptible to earthquakes and earthquakes …” and requests comments.
The subject you are discussing in your communication is of great importance and timeliness, especially for those places, such as Peru, where seismic activity is a very real risk that has caused and continues to cause huge damages of all kinds.
In this brief space and for clarity, I will make a separation of concepts related to the seismic damage caused to the structures, since this is a very broad subject. The seismic effect may affect the supporting soil of a structure and thereby cause a rearrangement or differential settlement of the foundation and thereby in turn cause damage to the structure itself, which may consist of simple cracking or failure of important structural elements.
For example, if the support of one of the bridges of a bridge fails and a cracking in the support appears, the real problem is not to repair the crack but to rebuild the support, restoring its structural capacity. If a particular structure is based, due to a seismic effect, a technical inspection and evaluation must be carried out by an experienced engineer in order to evaluate the structural damages suffered, for their correct repair.
As regards the use of resins in this field, there may be some connections of origin, with research that has been carried out for several years in other areas of engineering, such as mine engineering, which has been experienced with expansive resins for anchoring support bolts.
For a few years, the application of expansive resins (polyurethane) has been carried out to try to restore the original levels in structures that underwent differential movements, mainly settlements. However, it is important to remember that it is not only about providing symmetry to the structure, but about restoring its effective structural capacity. Care must be taken to ensure that the maneuver to correct a settlement does not affect the structural capacity at any point in the structure. If it is the structure of a house, for example, constructed with block walls, it must be carefully checked that the function of the load walls (enclosures, cast cells, etc.), or of the running shoes has not been affected, for example.
Seismic effects
Possibly there are some connections of origin with the investigations that for several years are carried out in the mining engineering, experimenting with expansive resins for the anchoring of support bolts.
In a short form, it can be said that it has been experimented with many types of resins, however the predominant ones seem to have been polyester and epoxy resins, depending on the strength sought, as well as the expansive characteristics and cost of the product. The polyurethane has also been used in pressure injection, directly under the structure.
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When dealing with cracks in walls, care must be taken to verify that: If an enclosure chain, for example, or a block or column, is to be used, an epoxy product (Two components, or some other similar product of good quality), rigid that provides sufficient strength for the work of the structural element. But if the crack were between two elements that have movement with each other, the crack should be caulked with a product that remains flexible, in order to allow the planned structural work.
Continuous advances in technology drive tremendous research in several countries, with reference to restitution in earthquake-damaged structural elements. Nanotechnology has opened a huge portal to what until recently was known as science fiction. Technical research in this as well as other interesting aspects of practical applications in engineering gives us many surprises.