Engineering of concrete structures is a continuously evolving process. Invention and development of new construction methods place increasing demands on the building materials. Concrete producers face this technological challenge daily alongside other factors such as economy, ecology, raw material and energy costs and logistical complexity. In the duration of the whole construction process, time itself is an increasingly important factor.

Sika provides a complete solution for all concrete needs, from admixture to readymix concrete, precast, early strength concrete, long retention concrete, and other concrete-related products including repair, cosmetics, etc.

Securing Quality for Concrete

Concrete is the most used building material in the world. Look at any infrastructure, tunnel, dam, parking lot, parking deck, or skyscraper. Any improvement in the engineering of concrete is a benefit for everyone. Improvements can include cost, strength, durability, or ease of application. And as the material evolves, our infrastructure becomes safer. However, concrete is a composite material: it is only as good as its weakest component. Sika admixture technologies are based upon the fact that the quality of raw materials and their respective properties vary widely and tend to weaken throughout the world. Sika technologies therefore aim to improve upon some of the known gaps in concrete as a composite material.

Concrete batching plant using Sika admixtures for ready mix concrete production
Concrete structure protected with Sikagard elastic protective coating

Durability Design of Concrete Structures Minimize Life Cycle Costs

As the cost of structures increases so does the need to keep these structures in service for as long as possible. This effectively reduces the life-cycle costs and aids in the investment decision from a time-value of money perspective. Limiting and preventing cracks protects the high alkaline environment that the concrete inherently creates. This, in turn, protects the reinforcement from corrosion. This is one of the most important attributes of concrete durability and one of the hardest to achieve consistently, but that is all about to change. High-performance concrete thus is not a single type of concrete, but rather, any number of concrete engineered to possess certain properties suitable for a particular construction application.