Construction Technology 1

ELECTRO OSMOTIC PULSE TECHNOLOGY

used to prevent water intrusion on concrete structures

water intrusion on concrete structure can be disasterous for a building, it can invade the basement or footing space of a structure and cause reinforced steel bars to rust and crack the concrete. vapour barriers arent always sufficient and can be destroyed within time, basically when severe dampness is evident in footing structures especially in older buildings, the footing must be exposed all around and the entire dampproofing around the area raplaced. this process is extremely costly and complicated.

Electro Osmotic technology uses to sets of electrodes to create a current between the concrete structure and the surrounding soil. This electric field moves water away from the concrete therefore keeping it dry. By using a negative and a positive elctrode and a series of pulses that run between them pushing the water away from the footings and eliminating the growth of molds and bacteria.

This technology is still in its trial period, but has many advantages over traditional dampproofing methods. It is very cost affectives according to trials by the United States Army Engineers Corp, and does not need to be replaced every five years so is a permanent solution.

The main barrier for its introduction is continued research and the issue of older buildings needing structural repairs before the technology can be implemented.