Civil engineering generally deals with the construction, maintenance and repair of all types of utility and infrastructure projects. All of these projects contain joints and connections which need to be securely sealed and protected.
Common Types of Civil Engineering Projects
Transportation Infrastructure
Transportation infrastructure includes roads, highways and railways along with their bridges and tunnels, docks and harbors, airports and associated stations, terminals and support structures and facilities.
Utility Structures
Utility structures are those that make up the power and water industries, such as dams and power stations as well as their distribution and transmission networks - meaning the clean and dirty sides of the water industry from drinking water reservoirs through to sewage treatment plants.
Processing & Manufacturing
Civil engineering structures are also used for industrial processing and manufacturing industries - from mining to food processing facilities and more.
High Performance Components
Protect against the elements
Civil engineering joint sealing is more than just closing gaps in your structure - it is safely, securely and durably connecting and sealing high performance components.
Sika joint sealing solutions are used extensively in all types of civil engineering structures - in public and privately owned infrastructure, utilities and all types of building structures for residential, commercial, leisure and production facilities. Sika joint sealing products for floors, decks and road joints are renowned for their chemical and mechanical resistance, plus high durability for a long service life.
Sika takes care of where your structure is most vulnerable
Avoid building any weak links with Sika’s expertise and the extensive range of Sikaflex®, Sikasil® and other specialized Sika civil engineering joint sealing solutions.
Using Sika joint sealing systems is a decision based on engineering design competence, security and working with a reliable partner for the areas where structures are most vulnerable and prone to failure. Therefore, Sika sealants and adhesives are the first choice for civil engineering projects worldwide.
1. Concrete Highways Joints
Concrete shrinks upon curing. When constructing any concrete pavement, uncontrolled cracking because of the shrinkage is prevented by cutting regular joints into the green concrete. These saw-cut joints need to be sealed to prevent water and salt ingress into the substructure. Besides the saw-cut joints that have minor joint movements mainly from traffic, there are also movement joints that are designed to uptake thermal movement of the concrete pavement.
Sika joint sealing systems for roads and highways are widely used in these formed and saw-cut joints not just on concrete highways, but also on other paved areas such as runways, plaza decks, driveways and more.
Meets highway regulations
UV and weather resistant systems
Ultra-low modulus sealants
Approvals and certifications:
ASTM C920, class 100/50
ASTM D 5893
Approved by many US DOTs
2. Airport Pavement Joints
Airport pavement and runway areas are highly frequented and exposed areas. Joint sealing in such areas are challenging for both applicators and the sealant material itself, which needs to withstand extreme weathering, frequent traffic and thermal movement, mechanical cleaning impact, and chemical impact from spills like fuels, hydraulic fluids and deicing agents.
Sika offers sealing solutions for airport pavement joints (construction, connection and movement), depending on the regulations that need to be met. Our solutions are self-levelling, which is essential as the joints cumulate to many kilometers in length and are usually applied by machine.
The Sikaflex®-406 KC system wins over many airport operators with its robustness and long service-life. As repair of airport pavement and joints are continuously ongoing often during the night, rapid reopening to traffic is essential. Joints made with Sikaflex®-406 KC and the booster can be reopened to traffic after 2-3 hours, often just in time for the first aircrafts leaving or entering the airport in the morning.
This solution is ideal for airport runways, taxiways, hard standing and hangar floors, where Sika can provide the right solutions with durable, long-lasting and reliable joint sealing systems.
Advantages of Sikaflex®-406 KC joint sealing systems for airport pavement:
Easy, secure application
Rapid repair of joints
Protection of ground and water from spillage
Robust, durable and long-lasting service life
Approvals and certifications:
EN15651-4 PW EXT-INT CC 25 HM
EN 14188-2Key parts of the US Federal Specification SS-S-200E
Chemical resistance tests
EC1PLUS, A+, LEED v4
The main advantage of Sikaflex®-402 Airport joint sealing systems is that it has high jet fuel resistance.
Approvals and certifications:
US Federal Specification SS-S-200E
ASTM C920
3. Car Park Deck Joints
Parking structures are primarily built in concrete. As in all construction, there are countless joints that need to be sealed to make them waterproof. The joints are subject to all kinds of movement and vibrations, mechanical impact from traffic and mechanical cleaning, strong weathering on exposed floors, chemical impact from salt and other deicing agents as well as occasional exposure to oil or fuel leakage.
Sika provides complete solutions for parking decks including concrete admixtures, traffic coatings, passive fire protection, prefabricated floor joint panels and joint sealants.
Sikaflex® PRO-3 (one-component PU) is one of the best joint sealant solutions for such applications.
It has ensured long-lasting, durable tight joints in many parking facilities around the world for many years. Sikaflex® PRO-3 has a good balance of robust application properties, strong adhesion, high elastic movement capability and tear resistance, excellent weathering and good chemical resistance - all which make it the first choice of specifiers and applicators.
Advantages of Sika joint sealants for car parking structures:
Movement capability of ± 35% (ASTM C 719)
Very high mechanical and chemical resistance
Bubble-free curing
Good adhesion to most construction materials
Solvent-free
Very low emissions
Certifications:
EN 15651-4 PW EXT-INT CC 25 HM
ISO 11600 F 25 HM
ASTM C 920, class 35
ISEGA Certificate for foodstuff area usage
BS 6920 (drinking water contact)
ASTM C 1248 non-staining on marble
ISO 16938-1 non-staining on marble
CSM TVOC tested (ISO-6.8)
CSM biological resistant: very good
Tested according principals of DIBt for Waste Water Exposure
Resistance against Diesel and Jet Fuel according to the DIBt guidelines
4. Production & Warehouse Floor Joints
In warehouses, factories and other industrial flooring areas, the primarily saw-cut movement joints are positioned and designed to accommodate shrinkage during concrete curing and compensate for movement during the normal expansion and contraction of the concrete structure.
These floor joints are sealed and accommodate the anticipated movement. Sealed floor joints can prevent liquids and dirt from getting in and thereby into the concrete substructure.
The Sikaflex® range of joint sealants offers a high level of sealant for many floor joints in industrial areas.
For joints with high movement and heavy traffic especially by forklifts, Sika offers a preformed Sika® FloorJoint system that can be integrated into the range of Sika industrial flooring systems.
Optimum balance of hardness and movement capability
High chemical resistance
Tough, durable and secure
High impact and mechanical resistance
Compatible and easily integrated with Sika industrial flooring systems
Certificates:
EN 15651-4
5. Railway Bedding Joints
Vibration and noise from railways and trams can be effectively reduced by embedding the rail in elastic compressible polyurethane sealants. Embedded rails are also insulated against stray currents affecting adjacent services and potentially accelerating steel corrosion.
Sika Icosit® systems are an innovation and have made Sika the market leader for discrete, embedded fixed rail superstructures. In construction areas with limited installation height, these advanced Sika systems can provide a compact, weight-saving and cost-effective solution.
Rail superstructures with Sika Icosit® sealants are often connected to the adjacent concrete and asphalt pavement or road with Sikaflex®-406 KC.
It robustly protects against environmental conditions, pedestrian and wheel traffic making the product a more durable, lasting solution compared to bitumen solutions, which turn brittle in winter and liquid in summer.
Advantages:
Easy and secure application
Rapid completion and reopening to traffic, especially in case of refurbishment
Durable for a long service life
Compatible and integrated rail fixing systems
Black and concrete grey colours
Certificates:
EN 15651-4
EN 14188-2
6. Silo & Containment Area Joints
The area around tank structures are usually special concrete pavement containment structures. These structures retain chemicals in case of spills or leaks in the tanks. The joints in such structures need to be sealed with chemical-resistant (often hydrocarbons) sealants to prevent leakage into underlying soil and ground water.
Our SikaTank® sealants and Sikaflex® polyurethane sealants have high chemical resistance to hydrocarbons.
Typical Applications:
Primary and secondary containment tanks and areas
Bund linings
Suitable for sealing around fuel stations
Suitable for many other chemical storage and transfer facilities
Advantages:
Protects ground and water from any spillages
Resistance to fuel oils and other hydrocarbons
Easy to use and durable for a long service life
Sikaflex® sealants are used for the sealing of tanks and silos. They are widely used as sealants in segmental containers where stainless steel, black steel or enameled steel segments are assembled in the plant or on site. The sealants need long open times, since building such silos requires time, high tear resistance (since the segments move once loaded) and high chemical resistance to organic acids.
Such silos are found in food processing plants, agricultural applications and biomass power plants. Liquids being stored include water, silage, food waste and liquid manure.
7. Food & Beverage Processing Plant Joints
In the same way that choosing the right processing equipment and flooring is crucial to the success of a food and beverage plant, so is choosing the right floor and wall joint sealants and installing them correctly. As a complete surface, the floor, wall and joint sealing systems must be integrated and fully compatible to effectively seal the surfaces and prevent hazardous substances from leaching into the food being prepared or the working environment.
Sika has a complete range of compatible systems, including floor systems and necessary joint sealants fulfilling the latest European and International guidelines, which confirm suitability for use in such industries.
Extensive approvals and certification
High chemical resistance
No migration of chemicals in case of food contact
Resistant to cleaning agents and brushes
Resistant to small-wheeled production traffic
Resistant to moisture and mold growth
Compatible with Sika industrial flooring systems
Approvals and Certificates:
ISEGA Certificate for foodstuff area usage
BS 6920 (drinking water contact)
CSM TVOC tested (ISO-6.8)
CSM biological resistant: very good
8. Clean Room Joints
The requirements that joint sealants must meet to be used in clean rooms are generally related to VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Outgassing during curing and service life cannot be tolerated as this would have impact on the goods produced - be it electronics, pharmaceuticals or food. Besides VOC emissions, further requirements include:
- airtight connections, since clean rooms are generally run with slight over pressurization
- a fine and tack-free surface to avoid dirt accumulation
- resistance to cleaning agents, which can be quite harsh especially in medical and pharmaceutical environments
Sikaflex® PRO-3 has been applied in many clean rooms all over the world for production and medical facilities like hospital operating rooms.
Extensive international and national approvals
Lowest outgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Resistant to mechanical impact, including small-wheeled traffic
Compatible with Sikafloor® and Sikagard® clean room floor and wall coatings
Approvals and Certificates
