Construction World July 2018

Noel Abendroth, a.b.e. High Performance Coatings Solutions Manager, says VIP QuickSeal PP 350, a pure polyurea that offers exceptionally high tensile strength, was applied on the 26 000 m 2 concrete roof of one of the buildings that form part of the “iconic symbol of Botswana's support for research and development and promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship”. a.b.e. – part of the Chryso Southern Africa Group – holds an exclusive agreement with VIP (Voelkel Industrie Produkte) in Germany for the sale and distri- bution of the company’s respected range of protective coatings and joint fillers in Southern Africa. The water- proofing of the roof – that will accommodate one of the Innovation Hub’s characteristic roof gardens – was handled initially by Hiremore Civils from Botswana and later by a.b.e.’s approved applicator, Diamond Linings. The Botswana Development Corporation’s Inno- vation Hub was designed by SHoP Architects of New York after winning an international competition to design the campus. The complex features a collection of long slender buildings that reach out into the open land and are covered with a concept SHoP calls an ‘En- ergy Blanket’ roofscape that incorporates sustainable energy techniques. Large overhangs passively shade the buildings’ interiors while the roofs – that collect rainwater for reuse – are covered by roof gardens with indigenous species. Recently launched locally, VIP’s QuickSeal PP 350 is a spray-applied, instant curing flexible membrane that can be built to any thickness in one application, in vir- tually all environmental conditions. Very cold, very hot, or even very humid, environments do not affect curing time or physical performance of VIP QuickSeal PP350. "VIP QuickSeal PP350 provides flexible, seamless, hard-wearing substrate protection for a wide range of substrates. Its rapid spray application and instant curing characteristics enable shorter shutdown times than traditional glue," Abendroth stated. Among the product's features are: • Extremely fast application time • Tack-free in seconds – it can even be walked on within minutes • High elongation at break • No need for protector boards during back filling • High abrasion resistance and excellent thermal stability  a.b.e. Construction Chemicals has supplied large volumes of polyurea coating for the waterproofing of an expansive roof of one of the new buildings of Botswana’s massive Innovation Hub campus in Gaborone. Waterproofing new Botswana innovation hub

Construction of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Highway between the Gonubie Interchange, north of East London, and the Isipingo Interchange in Kwa-Zulu Natal, includes upgrading the R61 route to improved riding and safety standards. To accommodate the new design speed of 90 km/h (from a design speed of 60 km/h), major cuts and fills were required to improve the horizontal curve alignments on the steep, winding terrain. With the aid of finite element FE software, Kaytech provided a design proposal confirming the improvement factor that the addition of RockGrid PC would achieve. Consultancy group, Mott MacDonald approved the proposal. RockGrid PC is a bi-directional, composite geotextile offering high modulus characteristics for reinforcement applications with the additional benefits of in-plane drainage capacity, separation and high installation survivability, and is the first such geotextile manufactured in South Africa. Triamic Construction installed 211 500 m 2 of RockGrid PC 100/100 (bi-axial tensile strength: 100kN/m) from subgrade level up through the select fill layers at 1,5 m lifts. RockGrid PC was overlapped 150 mm every five metre roll width with a 20 mm thick frictional soil placed between the geocomposite. Each 1,5 m lift was benched into the in-situ material and, to intercept any migration of seepage through the fill, Kaytech’s Flo-Drain systems were installed against the benched face. In this project, each 1,5 metre lift was benched into the insitu material and geocomposite Flo-Drains 1000 (29 550 m) installed against the benched face to intercept any migration of seepage through the fill. Manufactured from high quality HDPE, Flo-Drain consists of a one metre vertical Flownet geonet wrapped in bidim A2 geotextile with Flopipe 110 slotted collector pipe along the invert. In-plane drainage capacity of RockGrid PC ensures interception of migrating seepage, redirecting it to Flo-Drain collectors. With Kaytech’s geocomposite geogrid reinforcement improvement installed, The South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL) are assured that section 8 of the R61, Majola Tea (km 51) to Tombo (km 66) meets the highest possible factors of safety required.  High factors of safety on R61 Inclusion of Kaytech’s unique RockGrid PC geotextile into the design of high fill embankments on the R61 between Mthatha and Port St Johns, not only raised safety factors to acceptable levels, but provided by far the most effective and economical solution.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2018