Protecting concrete flooring is vital to ensure the longevity of the surface and to greatly minimise compromising and degradation of the concrete itself. While concrete floor sealers do a fantastic job of this, with epoxy resin, not only will the floors be fully protected against the elements and wear and tear, you can also transform those plain concrete floors into a real showpiece.
EpiMax offers proven epoxy resin flooring solutions to suit any industry, application or situation:
- Workshops
- Garages
- Warehouses
- Car Parks
- Automotive
- Food Industry
- Retail
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Let’s take a closer look at epoxy resin and why it’s the perfect choice for both protecting and beautifying concrete floors.
What is an epoxy resin?
Also known as polyepoxides, epoxy resin is the most widely used family of thermosetting polymers and a large portion of its uses are non-reinforced, such as:
- Flooring
- Adhesives
- Coatings
- Precision grouts
- And more…
When it comes to reinforced variants, uses are commonly found in aerospace, wind turbines and circuit boards where carbon fibre or other reinforcements provide added performance. These are just some of the many areas epoxy resin is used in non-reinforced and reinforced applications.
Due to its elevated mechanical performance, epoxy resin delivers a higher chemical and thermal resistance than other forms of resin. It also possesses an extremely high adhesive strength. There is also very little shrinkage when the resin cures.
Looking at the chemical structure of epoxy resin, it is the epoxy ring or group that is responsible for its excellent and very robust cured performance.
What are the broad characteristics of epoxy resins?
- Two component products (A + B => C)
- No release of volatiles during curing (nucleophilic addition)
- Excellent adhesion (polar groups create Van der Waals forces)
- High mechanical strength (fully cross-linked structure)
- Very low shrinkage (and in liquid stage only)
- Excellent water, chemical and heat resistance
- Good electrical insulation
- Long term durability
- Chemically stable
Most importantly, epoxy resins are versatile and formulations can be tailor-made to suit specific applications in a variety of industries.
In the final analysis, it is the inherent stability, adhesion, chemical and mechanical properties that results in epoxy-based systems offering great application versatility.
Why are epoxy resins used in flooring?
Epoxy resins are the backbone in a wide variety of flooring products. It is those previously mentioned features of stability, adhesion, chemical and mechanical properties that allow flooring formulators to offer a wide range of products for a variety of different applications and problem solving.
After further formulation chemical development, products can be specifically offered to address a vast variety of concrete floor protection applications in the chemical, environmental, industrial, healthcare, commercial and residential sectors.
Not only is epoxy resin the perfect solution for flooring protection, it’s also one of the best materials in use today for improving the aesthetics of commercial, industrial and residential concrete flooring.
What are the next big things?
Significant research in coatings technology has resulted in the development of high performance low and very low VOC coatings for industrial and commercial applications. This development work has been accelerated by the increasing awareness of the impact of climate change within our community and caring for the environment.
Also, epoxy resins can now be synthesized from various types of bio-based materials and as a result, these new versions offer a renewable pathway with proven sustainability credentials.
EpiMax sees itself as a leader in both of these fields. We will continue to develop the very best floor coatings whilst also keeping the environment in mind at all times.