Existing Containment Leaks

[structure_engineer]

Hello Engineers,

Do you have any suggestion on which product to use to repair cracks in the existing containment? I am not sure where are the leaks but I presume it is around the containment wall that is leaking. I would think using epoxy adhesive is too expensive and thus not practical. Any recommendations on a product to repair these cracks? Thank you in advance.

 

[JedClampett]

There are many cheaper alternatives to epoxy;
[ul]
[li]Bubble gum[/li]
[li]Dirt[/li]
[li]Home Depot Caulk[/li]
[/ul]
But they're not any good. If you're not going to epoxy inject, save even more money and don't do anything.

 

[structure_engineer]

I called Master Builders Solutions customer service and spoke to a couple of people. Several products are available and suitable for repairing the cracks in concrete, depending on the location of the crack.

MasterInject 1380 – for cracks up to ¼” max, it is a general-purpose structural concrete-bonding injection resin. Check out the bond strength. Wow! However, this product would be expensive. I guess you could use this product in the area where you know it is leaking. Use it to seal the small cracks and then apply MasterEmaco S 488CI over the larger area. This would ensure the crack is sealed properly.

MasterEmaco ® S 488CI – is a sprayable, fiber-reinforced structural repair mortar with integral corrosion inhibitor. Probably the most suitable product, for a large area. This product is in the Vertical Overhead Repair Mortars sub-section, under the Repair Mortars main section:

https://www.master-builders-solutio...r-and-structural-reinforcement/repair-mortars

MasterSeal NP 1 – being mentioned. It is a polyurethane joint sealant in a caulking tube.

 

[Brad805]

Is this structural crack or fine crack? How one fixes it will depend on the width we are talking. Xypex and Kryton both have many products, but none are cheap. I am not sure what country you are in, but epoxy used extensively in our area.

 

[structure_engineer]

Thanks for the input Brad805. Location of the facility is in the Gulf Coast region. More details are coming in as to the location of the cracks, be it vertical or on the floor. The intend is to use a practical and cost effective solution.

 

[JedClampett]

Now that I've been snarky, let me give some serious advice:
Master Builders is good. But they're going to recommend what they sell. In particular, a patching mortar is an inefficient way of sealing cracks, even if they're not re-transmitted through the mortar. Sika is also very good and has very good representatives. Any repair material will work when applied well.
But you might be better off finding a company that does this work (leak chasing and fixing) and picking their brains. Our local crack repair company is a caulking company.
Note that containment makes me believe these are chemicals that you're worried about. Be careful about using hydrophobic or hydrophilic sealing materials. These need water to seal. Your chemicals might not activate them. In any case, they might leak for a day or so until they seal.

 

[TLHS]

Is it secondary containment or primary (i.e. is it a tank or something?)? Here are a few thoughts:

Are you in a hurry to fix this? If not, it might be worth setting up a few crack gauges and waiting a while to see if this problem is stable or if stuff is getting worse or changing. This might not be necessary if the cause is obvious. A crack from construction issues, shrinkage or a reasonably stabilized settlement can be repaired with most things, but thermal movement, active settlement, or structural cracks might need consideration for movement. If you have cracks at your containment area corners because the walls are long and there's thermal forces pulling at a badly detailed joint, you're just going to have it open back up again six months after you fix it with a resin, but you might be able to fix it by sawcutting and using a flexible joint filler of some sort. You should have a good theory about the cause of cracks before you try to fix them. You aren't necessarily going to be right, but you should be comfortable justifying an opinion to people.


If you don't know where it's leaking you should probably figure that out. Are you sure there's leaks? Is it cracks? Maybe it's bad construction joints or the construction isn't what you think it is. Can you fill it up for a few days to pressure test it and see what's happening

If it's secondary containment, it might not be all that urgent if they're small cracks and it's a slow seepage problem where the far side of the wall just gets a bit wet or drips Owners should fix these things, but if it's not going to cause hazard to life or environment in case of a failure of the primary containment, the way you would approach the problem and communicate it to the client is different. The difference between "Oh my god you don't have secondary containment" and "You should probably implement an operational maintenance program." It also depends on what the material being contained is.

Is it a large scale problem? If they're non-structural cracks, is it going to be easier to just spray apply a liner on the inside or place a poly liner of some sort? It might be, if the problem is everywhere. Crack repair is fiddly.

I have also had pretty good experiences with Sika in this area. They can only help you solve the question you pose to them, though, so you need to know the problem you're trying to solve.