A FRICTION REDUCTION SYSTEM FOR COATING PILES, DRILLED SHAFTS AND SHEET PILING PRIOR TO INSTALLATION IN ORDER TO REDUCE FRICTION IN CONSTRUCTION APPLICATIONS WHERE NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION, DOWNDRAG FORCES, EASE OF INSTALLATION AND EXTRACTION ARE OF CONCERN.

ADVANTAGES

• Reduces peripheral anomaly activity in drilled shaft construction by creating an excellent plane between the drilled shaft casing and the cast-in-place concrete.
• Realize substantial friction reduction.
• Reduces uplift.
• Prolongs the life of piles, sheets and casings.
• Durable abrasion resistance.
• Save valuable time.
• Improved ease of installation, and an expeditious extraction process.
• Reduce maintenance costs.
• Reduce tidal friction on submerged piling.

CONSTRUCTION BENEFITS

• Highly resistant to corrosion and chemicals common to construction.
• Surfaces stay clean reducing maintenance costs.
• Water-based, the environment is protected since toxins, chemicals, and harmful metals are not leached into the ecosystem as with bitumen coatings.
• Excellent bond breaking characteristics.
• Cleans up with water.
• Waterproof in a cured state.
• Stays in place even during hot weather conditions.
• Bonds to pile or casing.
• Provides excellent friction reduction between the earth and piling.
• Durable.
• Apply with conventional equipment.
• Replaces bitumen coatings which are unreliable, hazardous to work with, and difficult to maintain on the pile surface during driving, especially under high temperatures.

Water-base SlickCoat being applied to 65-foot piles. The steel piles are sandblasted and Slickcoat is applied to the piles that have been pre-heated to approximately 100 - 140 degrees F. The piles are rotating at approximately 1 cycle per second while coating. An extra boost of heat from a heater is applied to the piles after coating with Slickcoat.

The pre-heated piles are coated with 2 passes of Slickcoat for a total dry deposit of 75 - 100 microns thick (3 - 4 mils). Pre-heating of the piles has the following advantages:

1. Fast drying time for quick turn-around
2. No sagging of the coating
3. *No flash rusting
4. The piles can be placed on a truck for delivery the same day
5. The double-coating of piles results in no pinholes
6. The water-based coating allows for quick evaporation without the fear of fires

* Sandblasted, cold rolled steel should have a flash-rust additive applied to it if left in storage for any period of time before coating. The preferred flash-rust additive, Flash Shield Rust Inhibitor 104-K, can be supplied by Plastic Maritime or purchased from UltraChem LLC (phone 713-641-4245). If purchased from UltraChem, it should be cut 30:1 with water. It will delay flash rusting for 3 to 5 days. It is specifically formulated so that Slickcoat can be applied directly over it without loss of adhesion.

Patents:
5,931,604
6,234,720 BI P
6,471,446

Foundation Technologies, Inc.
3300 Montreal Industrial Way - Suite 8
Tucker, GA 30084
1-800-773-2368
www.foundationtechnologies.com