Siège
mageba sa
Trafostrasse 1
8180 Bulach
Switzerland
Tél: +41-44-872 40 50
Fax:
Since the TENSA®POLYFLEX®Advanced (type PU) expansion joint was invented by mageba fifteen years ago, it has proven its value on bridge construction and renovation projects all around the world. As the modern alternative to the traditional asphaltic plug joint it provides a perfectly smooth surface for traffic (minimising noise and vibrations under traffic), but with vastly superior elasticity, strength and durability. It also offers great benefits for the installation process – not only can it be poured to form virtually any shape of expansion joint, such as sidewalk details, upstands and intersections, it can also typically be installed within the depth of a bridge’s bituminous road surfacing, and can be easily installed in phases. These benefits relating to installation are especially significant where the joint is being installed to replace an old joint on an existing structure, since they enable the impact on the bridge structure to be minimised, thereby also limiting the effect on the bridge’s traffic while the work is carried out. Further details are provided here, including a short video illustrating the installation process.
To further improve the installation-related benefits, by enabling traffic to drive over the new expansion joint even more quickly – which will be especially valuable where traffic is stopped or diverted to enable the work to be carried out – mageba has now developed the RapidCure version of the TENSA®POLYFLEX® expansion joint. While the polyurethane (PU) material of the Advanced (type PU) version cures quickly – at a rate that depends on the temperature (e.g. curing in 12 hours at 20 °C) – the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) material of the RapidCure (type RC) version cures in just three hours, regardless of temperature.
The new RapidCure version has been subjected to extensive testing at such renowned testing institutes as MAPAG-Gumpoltshofen and OFI–Vienna in Austria, and TU Munich and BAM in Germany. Two trial projects have also been successfully completed – one in Austria and the other on the Delaware Memorial Bridge in the USA. The new type of joint has already convincingly demonstrated its quality and durability, and as well, the European Technical Assessment (ETA) has been granted. Then, thanks to its extraordinarily quick curing time, which enables impacts on construction schedules and on traffic to be kept to an absolute minimum, we expect that the RapidCure joint will soon be widely recognised to be the state-of-the-art flexible plug expansion joint on the market – just as the Advanced joint has been for over a decade already.