Construction World February 2018

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Concrete technology in demand Concrete admixture users have wasted no time in taking up the testing and advisory services of Chryso Southern Africa’s new Centre of Excellence, which provides a complementary role to specialist testing laboratories.

Opened just six months ago by the leading admixture producer, the Centre has seen growing demand from customers and has quadrupled its staff complement to keep up. “We face a very busy 2018,” says the company’s Laboratory Development Man- ager Ronette Smit. “The Centre represents a substantial expansion of our laboratory test- ing facilities, which now boast ultra-modern equipment and temperature control systems to offer cement, concrete and construction systems technology as an added-value service to our customers.” Smit says the Centre provides tailor made solutions to match specific appli- cations, and can recommend the suitable cement additive – and dosage – to cost effectively boost concrete mix performance. “The Centre of Excellence also plays a key role in the Chryso Group’s new product formulations,” she says. “While most are based on customer needs, some are the result of new technology developed either at the Chryso Group’s head office in France or in-house in South Africa.” The facility can test and modify new products from French headquarters, to

ensure that these admixtures perform equally well in a concrete mix with South African aggregates. The difference between the sand used in South Africa and in Europe, for instance, needs to be taken into account. Local new developments are handled by Mpume Mlalazi, Chryso SA’s Research and Development (R&D) Manager. According to Sthembile Hlubi, Chryso SA’s Technical Manager – Cement, the Centre of Excellence includes five specific laboratories: Cement; Concrete; separate R&D units for both Chryso and its subsidiary, a.b.e. Construction Chemicals’ products; and a Quality Control laboratory. While the Centre currently focuses on wet concrete products, the service will soon encompass testing and recommendations on dry precast products such as concrete roof tiles. Brick and block making will also be added to the list of testing services, for which a special block press is to be installed. A further addition to the facility will be a cement ball mill to grind crushed materials, which Chryso SA expects to have fully operational by early 2018. 

Tumiso Makhubedo pictured doing micro concrete testing at the Centre of Excellence. Micro concrete, unlike a normal concrete mix design, is devoid of all larger particles. It is to simulate concrete workability retention as in Ready-Mixed Concrete applications. Prism concrete crushing determines the flexural and compressive strengths of cement paste and thin skin liners (TSL). Here Warren Delaney is checking just how much pressure the prism sample can take.

The so-called WACKER MYLAB is housed in a 40-foot container at IMCD premises in Johannesburg and serves as a test facility for vinyl-acetate-ethylene (VAE) based dispersions and dispersible polymer powders for the paint, coatings and the construction industries. WACKER MYLAB aims at developing region-specific solutions for the up-and-coming regional industry and offering technical support for daily business locally. The decision to establish a mobile laboratory in Johannesburg reflects the rapid development of the construction industry in South Africa and Southern African Development Community (SADC). To improve the building quality, there is a Mobile laboratory launched WACKER, the Munich-based chemical company recently launched a mobile laboratory together with their long-term distributor IMCD in South Africa.

The WACKER MYLAB in Johannesburg is an optimal facility for customer support in the region by combining local raw materials and construction methods with high-quality WACKER binders. “Our goal is to find regional solutions that meet the individual requirements of our construction industry customers locally. With WACKER MYLAB we are able to develop and test innovative applications that comply with the architectural tradition, natural resources and the local climate,” said Cyril Cisinski, Managing Director, Wacker Chemicals Middle East at the inauguration ceremony. The state-of-the-art lab equipment provides detailed analyses for flow characteristics, such as, tensile adhesion strength, compressive strength and linear shrinkage or the flexural strength of cured mortar. Furthermore, the lab serves also for the up-and coming South African and SADC paints and coatings industry. WACKER MYLAB offers for example the possibility to test the appearance, wet scrub, specular gloss and block resistance of paints and coatings formulated with VAE-dispersions. The WACKER MYLAB concept takes regionalization one step further, strengthening Wacker’s technical expertise for local markets. “WACKER MYLAB will help us not only to transfer our extensive expertise in sustainable building materials, but also to increase awareness of the advantages and market prospects of construction chemicals,” added Mohamed Sanaobar, Regional Technical Director, Wacker Chemicals Middle East. WACKER’s global network of technical centers also offers support by providing consulting services and conducting supplementary analyses. 

growing interest in new, higher quality construction materials and chemicals.

WACKER MYLAB, set-up in a 40-foot container based at IMCD premises

in Johannesburg (photo: WACKER).

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2018